The early hours of the day are always regarded as the golden hours for mood photography. This landscape of a village near Mount Bromo, East Java is illustrative as an example. I captured my first impressions of the misty mood and atmosphere of a village near Mount Bromo in 1980. The smoke from the lit cigarette of the rider added interest to the whole image. This image won a Gold Medal at the 25th Maitland International Salon, Australia held in 1982..
This was a view captured from Penanjakan lookout point, East Java, in 1992. The volcano that is in middle of the image puffing out a plume of smoke is the famous Mount Bromo. To date, two out of the three volcanos shown in this image are still active. A recent eruption of Mount Bromo in May 2004 killed one little boy (a tourist from Singapore), and injured many others that were visiting the area. At present, the area is temporary closed to tourists until further notice.
This slide won the Best Landscape Award (Photo Travel Section) of the 1993 Golden West International Salon, USA.
The golden hours of the early morning has provided me with great potential of capturing the mood of early dawn. I love the dramatic lighting conditions that have cast a golden sparkle on the Victoria Building in Hong Kong. The print was exhibited at the RPS 150 Anniversary Members’ Exhibition in Bath in May 2003.