Lava Tube [with Repost]

Gallery: LandscapePosted May 27, 2010347 views18 comments

My brother and I were exploring one of the lava tubes in El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico, walking in the darkness, when a small point of light became visible as we rounded a bend in the tube. Here the roof of the lava tube had collapsed creating a small opening, maybe 4-6 feet in diameter. I liked how the light from the beam reflecting onto the walls and ceiling of the tube. This was shot in late afternoon as the light beam was starting to disappear as the sun set. Please view larger image for better detail.

Canon 5DII, 17-40 lens @ 17mm, f16, 20 sec., ISO 400, single exposure

Comments

18 comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on May 27, 2010 at 3:49 PM

Very interesting image and an unusual phenomenon.

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by bill meikle on May 27, 2010 at 3:53 PM

Very unusual to see this, good catch Scott.

Registered on May 21, 2006, 173 Posts, 663 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on May 27, 2010 at 4:03 PM

That is one cool shaft of light Scott. Unbelievable how it lit up the cave. Congrats, a very unique image.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on May 27, 2010 at 4:16 PM

Very cool, Scott. Photographing in the lava tubes can be really tough - both in finding compositions as well as lighting.. you did exceptionally well with both here!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on May 27, 2010 at 4:26 PM

Scott,

Wow, this is amazing! What a great moment to witness and to capture. I think you did a fabulous job with the capture and processing (however much or little you had to do.) Great detail and lighting throughout. Awesome.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Sieren on May 27, 2010 at 4:35 PM

Love the way it illuminates everything!

Registered on January 2, 2008, 360 Posts, 5321 Comments

Comment posted by Anthony Vincent on May 27, 2010 at 5:02 PM

Very fun place to explore I reckon. The shaft of light almost looks fake, pretty cool Scott.
Nice job on this one

Registered on February 5, 2009, 199 Posts, 2775 Comments

Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on May 27, 2010 at 5:05 PM

First of all, great unusual photo that grabbed my attention for a long time. On a second thought, I am thinking that a more darker presentation may have more impact with an emphasis on the light beam

Registered on January 3, 2007, 313 Posts, 2270 Comments

Comment posted by Kartik Venkatarama on May 27, 2010 at 5:48 PM

Brilliant! Love the comp and surreal nature of this image

Registered on July 27, 2007, 197 Posts, 830 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 27, 2010 at 8:35 PM

That's pretty freaky, Scott, i love it! Ive been meaning to visit that place for a while, i figured it would be challenging photography, but you certainly caught a cool moment here.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on May 27, 2010 at 9:48 PM

Amazing how much luminosity you have in there, considering the small source of light. Very cool capture!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on May 27, 2010 at 9:53 PM

Very interesting and a great opportunity to capture something as unusual as this. The large version is very cool, but Arnab my be on to something. A darker version if possible might be quite powerful.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Dietrich Gloger on May 28, 2010 at 12:30 AM

That's really interesting. Thanks for capturing this for us

Registered on January 26, 2007, 360 Posts, 9876 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Fricke on May 28, 2010 at 1:34 AM

Thank you for your comments so far, a couple people have mentioned maybe darkening the image so I gave that a try and think I like it better, feels more like a cave. I just did a quick darkening and will go back later and do more of a selective darkening so I don't lose detail in a couple areas. What do you all think?

Registered on January 19, 2007, 133 Posts, 1448 Comments

Comment posted by Luis Argerich on May 28, 2010 at 10:29 AM

Very nice! What a perfect light beam!

Registered on December 22, 2009, 91 Posts, 1349 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on May 28, 2010 at 2:21 PM

Very nice Scott. You did a remarkable job in determining the correct exposure.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on May 28, 2010 at 8:08 PM

Way, way, way cool!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on May 29, 2010 at 1:56 AM

Hmm, tough call (on the repost). Maybe try a gradation, so the central portion is bright as in the original, but the light tapers off to the darker version at the sides.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments