Talking Pictures | The Blue Lava of Indonesia

[Reuben] What you see is the actual reality

of the landscape I was exploring.

The lake at Kahwah Ijen

is a bright turquoise, steaming pool of acid.

The gas vents, called fumaroles,

which blast hot sulfur gas,

stain the surrounding landscape a bright yellow.

And the ignited sulfur burns with a blue flame.

My name is Reuben Wu.

I'm a photographer and a filmmaker from Liverpool, UK.

But currently, based in Chicago.

The blue flame is too dim to be seen in the daylight,

so I had to wait until dusk for it to be seen.

And the moonlight was dull enough to show the flames,

as well as reveal the surrounding landscape.

I also used long exposures in many of my images,

which allows for pictures

which show an extended period of time

rather than a split second.

It is pretty dangerous inside the crater.

It is actually forbidden to venture down there,

but people do it anyway.

There is no real trail into the crater,

and I found myself inside a yellow gas cloud

for most of the time,

which can burn your lungs if you breathe it in,

and also smells really bad.

I made sure to bring a respirator

and a pair of good goggles.

Without them, you're pretty much blind,

and unable to function.

I found myself thinking more

about surviving potential danger

rather than being creative.

Looking at the pictures now,

I tend to forget the adverse conditions

I had to shoot under.

I merely remember it being a unique and solitary experience.

Experiencing not just the blue fire sulfur at night.

The most beautiful sunset behind the lake

full of rising steam.