Photographer Nur Syaireen Natasya Binti Azaharin had gone out with the expectation of capturing a sunrise but was instead rewarded with this glorious view of smoking volcanoes in East Java, Indonesia. Sitting above the low-level stratus clouds, she was afforded a tranquil view of the peaks in the early morning light and snapped the scene with her Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4. The judging panel praised the subtlety of the shot, appreciating the combination of the curves of the landscape and the curves of the tree in the foreground with the basin of clouds and the blue sky above.
A small pyrocumulus cloud (also known as flammagenitus) sits atop Mount Semeru (central peak in the background) and small plumes of smoke and steam are emitted from the crater of Mount Bromo (front left). Pyrocumulus clouds not only form above volcanoes, but above heat sources such as forest fires and power station cooling towers which cause air to rise. Moisture in the air will condense to form a cloud once the air has risen to a cool enough altitude.
Volcanoes emit small particles into the air which provide additional surfaces onto which the water vapour can condense. Therefore, pyrocumulus clouds can appear more dense than other clouds, being formed of many small droplets. If the heat source is large enough, deep rising currents of air may form, allowing the pyrocumulus to evolve into a pyrocumulonimbus which, like a cumulonimbus cloud, may be associated with thunder and lightning.
Photo location: Bromo, Indonesia
Photographer based: Malaysia
Camera: Samsung Z Flip 4