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When photographer Martin Westlake first arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1988 he traveled to the Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait situated between the islands of Java and Sumatra. That was just the beginning of Martin’s long-term fascination with Indonesia’s fiery landscape, which is home to over 100 active volcanoes. So, Martin had no shortage of subject matter when he decided to start photographing them. And while finding volcanoes may not be difficult, the way in which he chose to document them was.
Up until 2010, I shot a lot of my editorial and some commercial work on 4×5 color and black and white film. After that, it became more difficult and expensive to work this way here in Indonesia. I haven’t shot 4×5 for any clients since then. I really miss shooting with a large format view camera and this is a great way of working in that medium again.
Climbing volcanoes with a large format kit, film, film holders, tripod etc. plus camping gear is quite a challenge. I usually travel with my Indonesian assistant, who also enjoys hiking, but we often have to hire a porter/guide with local knowledge to help.
Sometimes all goes to plan and I get what I had set out to shoot, but often a lot of time is wasted exploring and looking for the right viewpoints.
As if climbing a volcano with all that gear wasn’t hard enough, Martin faces the challenge of using film which is no longer sold in Jakarta. For this reason he imports the film from New York, develops it in Bangkok and has it scanned in the United Kingdom—which makes the process take even longer. This labor of love is well worth it as he has been able to create these beautiful and captivating images. Since the start of the project Martin has tried to set aside time each year to climb a new volcano. This year he plans to return to Mount Semeru in East Java during the rainy season for a different look. Additionally, he’s been researching some of the volcanoes in the eastern part of Indonesia and hopes to shoot there soon.
The project is far from complete–there are still a lot more volcanoes to photograph but I’m hoping that I can find a way to shoot more each year and make a larger body of work. I like the idea that one day the series will make a great looking photo book.
Martin is also working with a graphic design company on developing a promo zine and accompanying cards in hopes of getting the work in front of art buyers and photo editors. Through this venture he’s learned that taking on such a long-term project not only takes time but requires a good deal of dedication, self belief and determination.
To see more of Martin’s work visit martinwestlake.com