We spent the weekend near Steeleville, MO this weekend. We took a tour of Onondaga Cave which was so cool! No tripods allowed, so had to crank the ISO as high as it would go (1600) and hoped for the best.
The compositions I took in the cave were very limited by space limitations, placement of handrails, light & electrical fixtures, etc.
The large flowing formation in the lower part of the photo is the King's Canopy. It is a flowstone formation. I can't tell you how big it was - but it was big. It was down quite aways from our vantage point. This was shot with a 10-22 mm lens @ 22 mm. The water at the bottom is a river (The Lost River) that flows through the cave.
I got rid of some of the noise in Lightroom but want your opinions on how it looks. Of course, it's hard to tell from a tiny web version... I'm sure this isn't an image I'd ever sell, but would like to have some nice copies for my scrapbook. I'll probably process and post a few more from here. Although we didn't see Batman , the cave was totally awesome and I'd highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.
Canon Rebel XTI, handheld (used handrail for support but people kept bumping it ), built in flash
10-22 mm lens
ISO 1600, F4.5 @ 1/4
Zack: No diving allowed in this cave, although had it been warmer, the water sure looked inviting! Missouri has over 5,500 caves so it's hard to say where your dad went cave diving.
Posted by Bill Dark on October 28, 2009 at 9:26 PM
I've always thought caves were some of the most difficult places to photograph well. The sensitive environmental conditions are not conducive to good technique or shot placements. Despite the challenges, I think you did a nice job with this, Angela. Looks like an interesting place to visit.
Posted by Ken Bachman on October 28, 2009 at 10:54 PM
It looks like you did a good job, Angela. I've never tried to shoot caves but have always thought it would be fun to try. Did you use auto white balance or how did you manage color? It looks pretty good to me.
Posted by Angela Classen on October 28, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Ken: I shot auto white balance and tweaked the RAW file in my Canon software. In this one, there is some white on the very top of the formation so I clicked on the white dropper and the colors look right to my eye. Some of the others I shot I couldn't do that because no white was in the frame so the colors might be a little weird. We'll see...
Posted by Scott Bean on October 29, 2009 at 12:10 AM
This looks good to me! I like the variations in the color and the light
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on October 29, 2009 at 10:33 AM
This looks like a wonderful exposure given the tough conditions. Well done Angela, I like it!
Posted by Aaron Szabo on October 29, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Under those conditions, this turned out really nice! It seems to hold up pretty good at 1600 ISO.
Discussion
7 repliesThe compositions I took in the cave were very limited by space limitations, placement of handrails, light & electrical fixtures, etc.
The large flowing formation in the lower part of the photo is the King's Canopy. It is a flowstone formation. I can't tell you how big it was - but it was big. It was down quite aways from our vantage point. This was shot with a 10-22 mm lens @ 22 mm. The water at the bottom is a river (The Lost River) that flows through the cave.
I got rid of some of the noise in Lightroom but want your opinions on how it looks. Of course, it's hard to tell from a tiny web version... I'm sure this isn't an image I'd ever sell, but would like to have some nice copies for my scrapbook. I'll probably process and post a few more from here. Although we didn't see Batman
Canon Rebel XTI, handheld (used handrail for support but people kept bumping it
10-22 mm lens
ISO 1600, F4.5 @ 1/4