Caverns Beneath Oregon

[idcanyon]

Here are a couple from this weekend in a lava cave in eastern Oregon.

I don't feel like the person stands out enough in this one, but I otherwise really like it. I think I needed to light up the wall behind him more. Oh well. I was moving fast, trying not to slow everyone down.

I had nowhere to conceal the flash here, but I don't mind it too much.

This was a field test for a compact camera/flash set up I'm planning to use in a much more extreme cave that is very unfriendly to cameras (and people).

 

[Derrel]

The flash is perfectly fine. You have used it as an element, quite wonderfully. NICE!

 

[jcdeboever]

Very interesting shots. I like them. What made you decide to take pictures inside a cave?

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[EIngerson]

Cool place!!!

 

[k5MOW]

Very cool.

 

[idcanyon]

Thanks all!

What made you decide to take pictures inside a cave?

Ha! Is this the age-old question, why climbing the mountain? ...because its there. Caves may actually make more sense because you actually have to go there to see where they go. Mountains, well you can see the whole thing from the bottom.

Cave photography is a unique challenge. Its easy in that the ambient light is very predictable and not depending on weather or time of day. And its difficult in that it is all about texture and shape rather than color, making how it is lit more critical than in other realms, not to mention that it really demands off-camera-flash which can be a logistical challenge in some caves (but not this one).

 

[annamaria]

Actually I like the use of the flash. Nice

 

[Jim Walczak]

Personally I feel these are very well done and well thought out...and like others, I too like the way the flash was used here. If I have any nitpick at all, I might open up the blacks on that first shot just a bit. Obviously caves are in fact dark/black (without flash) and I do feel it's a good thing to convey that, however I think the blackness of the cave behind the central portion of the image is just a bit too dominant. Instead of leading the eye through the picture, my eye tends to drop on the blackness immediately. Otherwise, very nicely done and very interesting pics!