Descending Into One of The World's Most Dramatic Volcanoes

In order to help us learn how to adapt to a changing planet, photographer Andrea Frazzetta wanted to document how people live and work in extreme environments . So he decided to descend into Mount Ijen in East Java, Indonesia, an active volcano that contains an acidic lake and a sulfur mine.

Deep within the crater, miners extract chunks of sulfur, carrying 150- to 200-pound loads to the rim and then down the mountain to sell to factories. Frazzetta rented a gas mask and climbed to the mountain edge. He went at night because that’s when the miners descend into the crater — its cooler then. So at 2 a.m. Frazzetta followed them into the crater to spend the night.

I’m happy to join the photographers’ team of the Sony Ambassador program. To celebrate the news I’m sharing this pictures from my work “Sulfur Road”. Mount Ijen, on the Island of Java, Indonesia, hosts one of the last remaining active sulfur mines in the world. This has been a tough one in very harsh conditions, the Sony 7RIII has been essential to getting the shoot. Stay tuned for my next projects. Thanks #SonyAlpha for this opportunity. @sony #SonyImagingAmbassador #a7rii #ijen #java #indonesia

A post shared by Andrea Frazzetta (@andrea_frazzetta) on Jul 3, 2018 at 9:00am PDT

“When you’re in the mine, the sky is covered by gases. Day and night are confused. You feel suspended in time,” he said, according to National Geographic.