DJI’s Stunning Adventure to Indonesia’s Kawah Ijen

Key Takeaways

• DJI collaborated with filmmaker Justin Bratton to document the breathtaking Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia.
• Despite challenging conditions, DJI’s Phantom 3 Professional captured remarkable footage of the volcano’s stunning blue flames.
• Miners in the area face dangerous working conditions as they extract sulfur from the crater.
• Insights from local experts highlight the potential of drones in volcanology and natural monitoring.

In an awe-inspiring project, DJI teamed up with filmmaker and television personality Justin Bratton to chronicle an incredible journey to explore Indonesia’s Kawah Ijen Mountain. This location is famously home to the world’s largest acidic crater lake, perched at an impressive elevation of 2,600 meters (8,660 feet) on Java’s eastern edge. The Ijen Plateau boasts a landscape dominated by volcanic features, creating a surreal yet hazardous environment.

With the goal of capturing extraordinary footage without a large film crew, the team utilized DJI’s lightweight and user-friendly technology. Bratton and his crew sought to test the drone’s performance against the strict quality control standards set by DJI, especially in the unpredictable conditions surrounding Kawah Ijen.

After landing at Surabaya, the nearest airport, the crew embarked on an arduous eight-hour drive, leading to a two-hour nighttime hike starting at 1 AM to reach the crater’s edge. Following that, they trekked an additional 45 minutes down to the lake itself.

Upon arriving at the crater, the team encountered a mesmerizing yet toxic landscape, with clouds of sulfur gas emanating from numerous vents. Here, sulfur ignites upon contact with air, creating breathtaking blue flames that flow like liquid light, reaching temperatures exceeding 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 degrees Fahrenheit). Ijen’s electric-blue fire has garnered attention as one of the only places on the planet where such an extensive sulfur flow is visible. Thanks to the capabilities of the Phantom 3 Professional, the team successfully captured stunning aerial shots of these blue flames, marking a significant achievement in drone cinematography.

While filming, the DJI crew found themselves enveloped in thick, toxic clouds, which threatened to damage the Phantom 3 Professional’s outer components. Despite these corrosive conditions, remarkably, the drone emerged unscathed, even after a close call with the crater’s edge—saved just in time by a nearby miner. Ensuring the project’s success, the Phantom’s SD card survived intact, preserving all the valuable footage captured.

As the team continued their exploration, they traversed challenging sulfur rock formations, where even gas masks offered limited protection against the overwhelming toxic fumes. The trek proved worthwhile as they reached the summit to witness what Bratton described as “one of the world’s most spectacular natural scenes.” He recalled standing before the intensely bright aqua water, an inviting sight reminiscent of underwater adventures, though dangerously acidic—a reminder that this beauty poses risks, capable of dissolving clothing and corroding metal.

The team also observed the dedicated sulfur miners who labor daily under perilous conditions, hauling robust loads of sulfur extracted from the crater’s edge. Each day, these miners gather yellow lumps of solidified sulfur that accumulate beside the acidic lake. Once processed, this sulfur finds applications in various factories around the globe. Working with minimal protective gear, many depend on damp cloths to shield themselves from the toxic atmosphere. One miner shared, “I start at 3 AM to mine sulfur, making two trips a day, each carrying about 70 kg of sulfur.”

Further enriching the documentary, the team met with Bambang Heri Purwanto, the Chief Volcanologist at Mount Ijen. His enthusiasm about the footage captured by the Phantom 3 Professional echoed the potential for drone technology in volcanology and environmental monitoring. “We use various tools to monitor volcanic activity, including seismographs and CCTV systems. Drones can provide visual oversight, allowing us to utilize infrared cameras for real-time temperature readings,” Purwanto noted. He remains optimistic that in the future, drones will become an integral tool for volcanologists worldwide.

“For filmmakers, we constantly seek innovative ways to capture stunning visuals, and traditional cameras have restrictions,” Justin Bratton remarked. “With the Phantom 3 Professional, those limitations vanish, enabling us to explore anywhere.”