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There and Back Again
The Pinoygraphers@SG Mount Bromo Photo Expedition (6 to 8 May 2011) By Jude Lim With contribution from Wheng Dichoso
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nyone who has read“The Lord of The Rings”will recognize the title of this article as the name of Bilbo's biographical book about his adventures in middle earth. Similarly, Pinoygraphers@SG's trip to Mount Bromo evokes the same spirit of adventure, danger, happiness, frustration, and triumph. Everyone who joined the expedition will be sure to tell you that it was an unforgettable experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
So What iS PinoygraPherS@Sg anD Where iS Mount BroMo? Pinoygraphers@SG is a group of Filipino photography enthusiasts based in Singapore. They are the biggest and oldest Filipino photography group in Singapore with more than 220+ registered members as of this writing. The group engages in the pursuit of photographic excellence while at the same time engaging in charity work by offering their services to the community. Since its inception on the 23rd of April 2007, the group has been actively giving support to charitable institutions including the Philippine Embassy and the Filipino community. Mount Bromo is an active volcano in East Java, Indonesia. It is the most popular volcano in the Tengger massif (group of mountains) and can be reached by flying to Surabaya followed by a long land trip to Probolinggo. On the 6th of May 2011, twenty members of Pinoygraphers@SG embarked on an expedition to photograph this magnificent natural wonder. This article documents the experiences of the group during this monumental expedition.
PLanning The expedition was a brainchild of organizer Eman Patricio III who is one of the officers of Pinoygraphers@SG. After the initial invitation was posted on March 29 at the team’s website (www.pinoygraphersg.org), a steady stream of enthusiasts signed up. Having been out of the country at the time of the posting, I was one of the last ones to sign-up. Each of us had 28 Bagong Bayani JUNE 2011
to book our own plane tickets but the logistics once we arrived at Surabaya were all covered by the agency appointed by Eman.
Day 1: arrivaL Taking two different flights, the group converged on Surabaya Airport at 4 p.m. (Indonesia time) on the first day (Friday). Taking three different vans, the group first stopped at a bridge to take sunset pictures before heading off for dinner at the agency’s restaurant. They then proceeded to take the long uphill road to their hotel. By the time the group reached Cemeru Hotel at 10:30 p.m., they were all exhausted and ready to call it a night. Unfortunately for the team, they will only have a maximum of three hours of sleep on that night.
Day 2: Mountain hike At 1:40 am, with barely three hours of rest, each of the team members were awakened by loud knocks on their hotel doors. It was time to get up. It was a chilly 5-degree Celsius. The temperature coupled with the lack of sleep made a number of us shiver with cold despite having five layers of clothing, including gloves and thick head gear. The team piled onto five 4X4 vehicles for a 20- minute procession to the base of a neighbouring mountain. There, the group got off their vehicles to start an 8km trek up the mountain so that they can reach the summit in time to take sunrise pictures of the Tengger group of mountains. As the sun rises at 5:30 am, the group had to complete the uphill journey within three hours.