On the island of Java in Indonesia there is a volcano that has blue lava, one of the only places in the world this phenomenon can be seen. What causes the lava to appear blue is the sulfuric gases combusting, making this blue hue that can only be seen at night. What makes this site very popular though is not just the blue lava desired to be seen by the thousands of tourist annually, it's also the sulfer that miners treck into the volcano to obtain and sell, earning themselves $3per 70kg of sulfur.
The Miners Hut
At the base of Kawah Ijen is one hut where a retired miner now sells meals, food and supplies to the miners and tourists. It's here when you can get a warm meal for $1 and a face mask to protect yourself against the sulfuric gas.
The Ascend
At 2am the crowd of tourists and miners ascend the steep slope of the Volcano to reach the crater before sunrise. It's only at dark the tourists can witness the blue lava, the moment the sun light fills the sky the blue light returns to its normal orange form.
Along the way miners are either returning the Ijen to collect more sulfur, or leaving to cash it in. As they work all day and night you will find some finding any quiet enough spot next to the path to sleep, and then continue their hard nights work.
The Blue Lava
From a distance we can see the blue light brightly glowing, calling us to it like a mosquito to it's trap. We descend carefully into the crater trying not fall down the steep, slippering "stairs", or bump into a hard working miner carrying 70kg of sulfur up the volcano, or knock over a tourists taking photos of the wonder they came to see.
Next to the lava are pipes that the miners built to extract the sulfer, it's the combustion of the sulfuric gas that makes the lava appear blue. We didn't have much time before light starting to flood the sky, so I quickly set up my tripod and captured what I could blue lava, miners pipes and lots of sulfuric gas.
Sulfer Miners at Work
At the base of the crater inside the volcano is a sulfuric lake, the sulfur mine and a communial tent for the miners to store things or rest. It's not an organised operation, no one managers the site, it's simply ran by the miners.
How a sulfur mine works is, "Pipes are driven into the fissures in the rock to extract sulphur from the bowels of the mountain. It is blood red when molten, and turns yellow as it cools and solidifies. The miners break the cooled sulphur into chunks, and load up their wicker baskets for the 200 metre climb back up out of the crater." BBC
As I stood their taking the photographs of miners I met earlier in the night as they did their work I couldn't last longer than a minute by the pipes. The gas completely fills the area burning your eyes and lungs, even with a mask on. It had a horrible rotten egg oder that stained our clothes for weeks. This was no easy job, yet these men have been doing this job for decades.
The Second and Harder Ascend
As we leave the mine and return to the top of volcano we are able to see properly what Kawah Ijen is, yes this is a very harsh environment but it also had a suprising beauty. The landscape had some amazing textures and geometric shapes, along with the yellow bleached crater from the sulfur. Even more so though was the warmth and hopsitality of the miners, even though they may have one of the hardest jobs, they were incredibly patient with all tourists and showed great care for everyone. I was more moved and blown away by their hospitality than I was of the wonderous Blue Lava.
Not until I came home and was editing did I notice that the miner I photographed at 2am on the left, returned to help this lady on her ascend.
Portrait of myself back in 2015 with my mask. This is where it all began, my passion for photography, my heart to tell stories of those who need their story heard.