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How to photograph a cave ?

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Ecoh

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I am going to tour a cave next week and would like suggestions on how to take photos. Technical and artistic advice would be very much appreciated.

You can bring a camera and flash with you but cannot take a backpack or bag. So I would also like suggestions on what lenses to take, one will be on the camera, the other in my pocket. I am going to wear clothing with lots of big pockets.
I have a 70-200 IS f2.8, 10-22, 50 f1.8 and a 17-85 to chose from.
 
You didn't mention having an external flash, do you have one?

If you were to use a popup flash, you're likely to get dark ceiling and the pictures will look like they have major vignetting. Your best bet will probably be a bounce flash with an external flash to light up the ceiling and have that light come back down on the floor to evenly spread the light. Otherwise your ceiling and floor will be dark, or you'll get major over-flash on the floor if you point the camera downward.

I'm guessing the superwide zoom would be more appropriate but you might not want to change lenses in that environment.
 
Flash photography in caves, at least on-camera flash (not talking about powerful strobes), usually come out looking terrible.

Most caves I've been to have their own very subdued lighting that looks appealing to the eye, but is a nightmare for photography. I would recommend use of a tripod with timed exposures using the provided/available light.

Brendan
=====
I am the last sane person on earth.
 
We took some cave pictures some time ago and the way we did it was to use the shutter release cable to hold the shutter open. then walk around with a manual flash and lightup keypoints in the room(s), formations, walls, etc. be mindful of shadows, particularly you own. one person can stay at the camera and direct the flash operator (where to go, where are the shadows,etc. This was A VERY big cave and many shots took 5-7 flashes. and even then you could get dark spots in the room with almost no light. hope this is helpful. look forward to see the results
 
For my only experience of shooting a cave I took a 20D with a manual focus 8mm fisheye. ISO 1600, lens wide open (3.5?) and hand held up to a half a second. This was for about a group of 15 people all with head lamps in a relatively small cave, ceiling was less than 20 feet. The bigger problem I had was the batteries freezing!

ED
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************************************************
Can you tell? I picked my poison well.
 
Thanks for the examples, really nice photos. Excellent use of contrast.

Most seem to be at 70mm, did your lens limit you? Would you have wanted to get in closer or wider at any time ? Since I probably won't want to change lenses when in the cave I am thinking my 17-85 lens might be the one to take.
 
i dont think tripods are allowed. at least the one i went to. i used a 50 1.8 wide open at 1600 because it was only lens that can capture that amoutn of low light. there was some problem with focussing.

i would go with a wide angle lens, the fastest you have or with an IS and use a monopod. or maybe a bean bag and put on the floor?
dont bother with flash
--
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Some tours are simple - just walking around. Others require squirming through tight places, crawling, even sliding on your stomach. If it's the former, putting a lens in your pocket should be fine. If it's the later, I wouldn't want a lens in a pocket where it would likely get dinged up. In that case I would only bring the 10-22.
Ecoh said:
I am going to tour a cave next week and would like suggestions on how
to take photos. Technical and artistic advice would be very much
appreciated.

You can bring a camera and flash with you but cannot take a backpack
or bag. So I would also like suggestions on what lenses to take, one
will be on the camera, the other in my pocket. I am going to wear
clothing with lots of big pockets.
I have a 70-200 IS f2.8, 10-22, 50 f1.8 and a 17-85 to chose from.
Click to expand...
--
Some cool cats that can use your help
http://www.wildlife-sanctuary.org

Even if you can't donate, please help spread the word.
 
It is a commercial cave. There are 71 steps to go into the cave, as much as one inch of water on the floor and 71 steps back out of the cave. Everything else is easy walking.

I will see if they will let me in with a monopod. I think I will take a flash and do two sets of photos, one with flash and one without.
 
Ecoh said:
Thanks for the examples, really nice photos. Excellent use of contrast.
Most seem to be at 70mm, did your lens limit you?
Click to expand...
I was shooting with a 70-200mm f/2.8. I thought I might be able to get some ambient light shots at f/2.8, but I had to use flash because it was too dark. Also, I took the 70-200 thinking I would be shooting details, but I ended up at the wide side 70mm most of the time. I think the 17-85 with flash would be perfect.

--
CityLights
http://www.pbase.com/citylights/favorites
http://www.pbase.com/citylights/show_case
.
 
Here are some shots I took about 15 years ago in Carlsbad Caverns NP. I used a Canon 35mm camera, a 20-35mm wide zoom, a tripod, a remote, and an external flash. I can’t remember whether I used mirror lock-up. I am fairly sure they were shot around f5.6 to f8 to get the most depth of field. I used 400 ISO Kodak Royal film.

http://BillPPW350Z.smugmug.com/gallery/3262626_iZx8t/1/189511651_NbMeW

Depending on the light, the IS on the 17-85 and/or a monopod probably won’t cut it. I’d go with the 10-22, a tripod, a remote, and an external flash unit.

Hope this helps, and please post some pictures when you get back!
--
Bill
I’m no expert; I just like to take pictures and share them with strangers
http://billppw350z.smugmug.com/
 
I have spent much of my career crawling around in caves that were not developed for commercial use (searching for bats). I never take ANY kind of camera or lens into those caves. For a commercially developed cave, I suggest that you take either your wide zoom or your 50mm. A tripod would be ideal if permitted. A speedlight also would be ideal if permitted.

Jerry
--
http://jchoate.zenfolio.com/
 
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