Indonesia was hit by two natural disasters on the same day on 25th October 2010. The first one was the volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi in Central Java and the earthquake and tsunami that struck Mentawai island in West Sumatra. Both were deadly, unfortunately. My prayers are for the victims and their families as they go through this difficult time.
I shot the photo above in 2006, which shows the Mount Merapi in the background and the Borobudur temple in the foreground, where I stood with my camera and tripod. When I had my first solo photo exhibition in Makati, Philippines in 2008, this was one of the photos I exhibited and the title was “Harmony with Nature”. But what an irony now after the eruption as the ashes may threaten the old temple because the acidic soot may speed up the decay of the temple stones, according to the experts. But I hope nothing serious will happen in the long run and these two can continue to coexist in harmony and our next generations will continue to witness and admire one of these great man-made creations in history.
Slow shutter speed and the moving clouds created the lovely effect in the photo above.
