First Foray into Panorama

(Panorama of Savanna, formed by stitching 10 photos. For enlarge view, just click on the photo)

 

This was my first attempt producing panoramic pictures of the breathtaking landscape in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, and I made some terrible mistakes. Rule number 1, never ever set your camera into Auto Mode and Auto White Balance. When you see the photos with different tones and exposure levels while trying to stitch them together, you’ll get what I mean. The whole process to adjust the brightness, contrast, color, and white balance of all the photos before forming the final panorama was painstaking.

 

(Crater of Mount Bromo, formed by stitching 5 photos. For enlarge view, just click on the photo)

 

Let’s take a closer look into the picture above – a panorama of the crater of Mount Bromo. The brightness of the sky looks uniform, but the color of the ground from left to right appeared to be very different. And it actually tells the viewer that the photo was being stitched, badly! Though photos stitching are not uncommon to many people, nobody actually wants to show others that the single panoramic photo is actually a combination of different photos, at least not with such an obvious flaw.

The panorama below looks more natural. At least, you won’t have the feeling that it’s done by stitching several photos together, right?

All photos are stitched using Panorama Maker 4, a software that comes together with Panasonic Lumix LX3.

 

(Mountain range in Savanna, formed by stitching 4 photos. For enlarge view, just click on the photo)

Leo, the man who escaped me from the stormy savanna

 

After wandering around Savanna for about an hour, we decided to leave. But the question is – How? We took more than 3 hours to reach here from Mount Bromo, on foot. If we walk back, it would take us another 6 hours. Our feet are sore and walking was definitely not an option.  We saw some villagers passing by occasionally on the way to savanna. And they might probably give us a lift, we thought.

Our luck came very fast indeed! Not long after we started walking, we saw 2 motorbikes emerged from the back of the mountain, heading towards us. We were delighted.

“Hello! Hello!” We yelled and waved our hands hard, for the fear that our rescue signal gone unnoticed. Well, it worked of course! I asked whether they are able to send us back to the our hotel politely. One of them gave me a wink without much thought and we were soon whizzing away from savanna.

His name is Leo. Sitting on the back of his motorbike, I was finally relieved. The gentle wind soothed my nerves  and I began imagining myself having a hot shower followed by a much-needed ginger tea, at the comfort of our guesthouse. But it soon proved to be short-lived. Lighting struck and we suddenly found ourselves covered under the darkening clouds. A torrential rain then followed. Leo stopped and wrapped himself with a hoodie hastily after handing me a blanket to cover myself. He warned that the ride was going to be rough and asked me to hold onto him tightly. His motorbike started to roar again amid the furious storm.

Raindrops were hitting my face hard, I could barely opened my eyes. We were now passing the Sea of Sands, a vast area of black sands in the plateau. The soil was soft and loose, causing the motorbike’s wheel to wobble. Leo was struggling to control it. The motorbike did sway sometimes but it was never threatening. Leo seemed to handle it pretty well, which really helped to ease my worries.

After 35 minutes of trembling ride, we finally reached our guesthouse, totally drenched. My body shivered, but it was heartwarming to learned that there are still people who are willing to step forward when we need help, without asking for any reward.

Thanks for your help, Leo.

A long road to Savanna

We were finally up at the edge of Mount Bromo’s crater, after climbing the steep staircase. The pungent white sulphurous smoke belching out from the center of the crater made us sick. Walking around the edge was scary, especially at the area near the upper end of the staircase. It was so crowded with people and the ledge for people to gaze into the crater measured at only about a meter wide. Most people stay here without venturing further because this is the only area where pre-cautionary railing is installed. This should be the safest area but to me it’s the most dangerous spot. Imagine if you are accidently pushed by others or any misstep happens, you will either end up falling down onto the foot of Mount Bromo, or head straight into the heart of the crater. No joke!

There’s basically not much things to see at the crater. That’s why most people leave after taking some candid shots here. I walked further away from the noisy crowd after a steady climb around the fringe of the crater. The wind blew so strong that I could feel the pain caused by the ashes that slapped onto my face. At times, it was serene and I managed to enjoy the surrounding views, in peace. The sights from here are much more eye pleasing. I spent some time admiring this vast volcanic plateau, which consists of some interesting volcanic landforms – vast area of black sands (called Sea of Sands or Tengger Sand Sea), rocky terrain, some other volcano’s peaks, deserts, mountain ranges and plenty of lush greens. 

After descending from Mount Bromo, we decided to explore the surrounding area by foot. The locals told us that there is a beautiful area behind Mount Bromo called Savanna. According to them, it is very near, only a couple of kilometres away. We actually believe it and end up walking for more than 3 hours before reaching Savanna . . . . .

Dried river that are formerly lava lines, I suspect.

Demonstrating a free fall.

Vast area of sands, like desert.

Came upon some interesting landscape.

These sand formations are actually very brittle. We accidently kicked it and the whole structure just collapsed. Dangerous!

After walking for more than 2 hours, we finally saw some grassy land.

We have finally reached Savanna, a pass between two mountains running side by side.

Sitting on the grass, enjoying the cool mountain breeze and the refreshing air. Life is so beautiful!

 Time to go home.

The Tenggerese

 

They are the Tenggerese, known to be the descendants of the Majapahit princes. At the foot of Mount Bromo, you will see quite a number of them, offering tourists a horse’s ride uphill to the staircase which leads to the top of Mount Bromo. And the service doesn’t come cheap. It cost about 30,000 Rupiah to 60,000 Rupiah normally, depends on how hard you bargain. But it’s actually not a difficult task to reach the crater of Mount Bromo. People take the horse’s ride more for the experience I guess.

Traditionally, they are nomadic herders. But in modern times, they no longer stay in the wild. Settlements are established and tourism spurs the development around the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park. Tourism is the most important source of revenue for the locals.

 

 

 

 

For Tenggerese who work as a trekking guide or Jeep driver, they normally start the day early at 3 am. They need to send tourists who come from every corner of the earth to the peak of Mount Bromo or Mount Penanjakan by 5 am, so that they will be able to catch the spectacular sunrise over the mountains. As for the horsemen, they are usually covered from top to toe. In the early morning, it will be chilling. As the temperature could easily drop to zero degree celsius during the winter. And during the day and noon time, sunburn could pose a serious threat. I learned my lesson to be able to tell you this. So, cover yourself properly and wear a hat when you go trekking next time!

 

He/She is handsome!

Sunrise over Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park? No luck!

(A panorama of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, formed by stitching 2 photos)

 

We were all embracing ourselves against the wet and cold climate on the top of Mount Penanjakan. It was probably 4:45 a.m. and we could hardly see each other’s face. I couldn’t differentiate whether it was drizzling or the whole area was just covered with thick  mist. We were all standing at an altitude of 2,770m. It’s not the highest point of Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, but it’s the best place to see the sunrise and one of the most iconic images of Indonesia — a spectacular view of the serene Mount Batok, the steaming Mount Bromo and the erupting Mount Semeru, all sitting on a plateau surrounded by mountain ranges covered in lush greens. But only could be seen during ideal weather condition for sure! And I guess all of us just didn’t have the luck that morning. Sky was brightening, but visibility was still low. From the top of Mount Penanjakan, we hardly see anything below.

The sun had already risen over the horizon, and tourists were leaving one by one. Most tourists proceeded to the next destination — the crater of Mount Bromo, in much disappointment, I guessed.

When our jeep was descending the mountain, the view got better, but still misty. The panoramic photo above was taken at that point of time, after much post-processing. The weather was just terribly bad to take a crisp clear image. Original image lacks clarity. It was a dull and foggy morning. But be assured that what’s coming up soon will be far more interesting, both the journey and the photos!