Tips for Cavern photography

I am planning to visit the Luray caverns, Virginia.

 

Any suggestions for getting good shots? I understand that using a tripod might

be a challenge since the visitors are asked to move along with the guide.

 

Will cave dampness cause any problem to the camera (I am using Canon 20D)?

 

What are the precautions to be taken?

 

Many Thanks.

Forget the tripod (you can't use one safely in a group) and keep the flash in your pocket. For support, you might use a bean bag (find one that screws into the tripod socket), or jack up the ISO and hope for the best. Spot meter the lighted artifacts and hope for the best.

 

If you want postcard-quality pictures, find your own cave and haul in a steamer trunk full of lights.

<i>If you want postcard-quality pictures, find your own cave and haul in a steamer trunk full of lights.</i><p>

 

Better is a sack full of edison-base flashbulbs and a couple Graflex flash units with slaves.

I got very good photos with canon 5D by using higer ISO and no flash

Flash is not very useful in the caves because the depth is too much and that cuases the near objects to blow out and hte father things in the cave are still dark

 

I personally didnt like the photos that i took with the flash in luray.

 

Tripod is not possible but they might allow monopods

 

Take pictures of the formations which are transluscent. they are the best in luray caverns. The musical instrument there is also very good to listen to but not really that great to photograph

In commercial caves which highlight some of the formations with colored lights, you really need to make a special arrangement to go alone with a guide, use a tripod for slow or time exposures, and separate lights for painting other surfaces.

 

Dampness isn't a problem per se, but make sure you don't allow calcium or limestone water to drip onto or into any surfaces.

I got some pretty good shots in Carlsbad Caverns several years ago just by using a tripod and the existing lights. I'm not sure if they still allow tripods there now, though.

 

The biggest drawback is that any scenic cave is well photographed already, so about all you can do is get some pictures that look just like what they sell in the souvenir shop up top. You'll be shooting the same formations from the same angle under the same lighting as all who went before you.

 

A precaution in some caves is to have your camera in a padded case, so you don't swing it against a rock, or fall down and knock it on a rock. On older manual cameras, a small flashlight to see the settings could be handy.

"I got some pretty good shots in Carlsbad Caverns several years ago just by using a tripod and the existing lights. I'm not sure if they still allow tripods there now, though."

 

Yes, I believe they still allow tripods. I was in these incredibly beautiful caves in April. I was kicking myself for not carrying a tripod, as much of the most gorgeous areas were not brightly lit enough for good handheld shots even at ISO800+ with my Nikon D200. It was not crowded at the time I visited. I did use flash on some but the results were just too stark.

 

I hope they will let you use a tripod in Virginia.

 

Mary

You can run a bunch of the big flashbulbs all over the cavern. This is still pretty much it for

lighting a huge area.

 

You will get very disappointing photos if the flash isn't some distance from the camera,

though.

The last time I was at Luray was about 4 or 5 years ago, and at that time tripods were allowed but not really practical. As someone else mentioned, you are expected to keep moving with your group because there will be another group right behind you. I think I ended up taking no pictures at all.

 

I did ask the tour guide if they could arrange private tours, preferably before they open or after they close, and he said yes. I didn't ask how much that might cost, though.

Oops, I hit 'submit' before I finished my answer. Regarding the dampness issue, I don't recall Luray being especially damp as caves go. However, I was not taking pictures.

 

In Carlsbad Caverns, where tripods are allowed and you can move through the cave at your own pace, I did shoot a lot. In that case, I found that the viewfinder fogged up so badly that I just pointed the camera in the general direction of what I wanted to shoot and hoped for the best. Usually, I got at least a piece of what I was aiming at...

I take photographs in non-commercial caves (ie. crawling around). While it is better to use slaved flash units placed strategically to light more distant areas, and those that are behind formations that will cast shadows, you can use an on camera flash with some success. Try Shutter speed no faster than 1/60" and around f/5.6. In a commercial cave, the available lighting is usually sufficient. Although it would be a little unusual in a commercial cave, try using a headlamp as a focusing light.<div></div>

Taking decent pictures when moving through a cave with a tour group is, with one exception, virtually impossible. The only way I've achieved good general scenics is when I've gone in after hours with the specific aim of photography, or in self-guided caves. A tripod is, of course, essential. Good shots can be taken with the tourist lighting, and open flash is a valuable technique for medium-sized caverns. I've never photographed truly huge caves, so have no experience of massive flash bulbs and magnesium powder!

 

When going through with a tourist group (this is the exception mentioned above) I tend to concentrate on details, rather than general scenes. Good close-ups can be taken with flash, especially if you hang back behind the group a bit.

 

Finally, I assume that Luray Caverns is in fact a tourist cave, not a wild cave. In the latter case a whole lot more precautions need to be taken, both for camera and photographer!

For the technical aspects of cave photography, the best book that I have discovered is "Images Below" by Chris Howes. ISBN: 0-9526701-1-9.

 

I used to do "wild" cave photography in upstate NY, while I was in college, carrying lots of flash bulbs and miscellaneous items. I would recommend using open flash set off by an assistant away from the camera position. Keep a towel handy to dry off everything. (There are few really dry caves.)

<br>Most caverns also offer private tours, without the visitors...you could take a tripod in one of these...

<br>Assuming that you have a tripod, things go lot easier...you can use an ISO 100, use a wide angle -- go completely creative!!