The blue fire of Kawah Ijen in the volcanic night by Frank Photos

In this nocturnal image, total darkness seems to engulf all visual reference points, leaving an almost unreal line of blue fire in the centre. This is the rare phenomenon of burning sulphur, observed at the Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia. The lava is not actually blue, but the gases produced by the sulphur, when they reach extremely high temperatures, take on this particular, almost electric hue, which seems to stand out like a line of light floating in space. In some places, the intensified combustion creates pinkish or slightly orange touches, reminding us that we are dealing with a very real, dangerous and living element. Night is essential here: it transforms the crater into a supernatural scene, where the volcano becomes a paintbrush, and the sulphur a luminous painting against a background of absolute black. The moment captured is almost abstract, almost cosmic, as if a crack were opening onto another world. This photograph is both scientific and poetic - a rare testimony to the raw energy of the planet, and the silent strangeness of blue fire.