Wind Cave National Park

I am going to visit Wind Cave in August. How do people typically

take picture inside dark (virtually no light) cave? Are they using

flash or using long (very long) exposure? I have Nikon SB-800 flash.

Should it be good enough under this circumtances? If using long

exposure is common, how does the wind condition at Wind Cave affect

stability of tripod? Is it strong enough to be considered or is it

weak enough to be neglected? Thanks.

If there is no light at all, such as within a cave, you could expose for an entire year and

you won't get any image. If you are near the entrance, then you would expose normally.

 

Most people use flashes, I think.

oh one more thing: is tripod ever allowed inside the cave? How is the crowd in august? i just don't want to get in people's way. Thanks!!

Despite its name, it's not windy (except close to the entrance) in

<a href = "http://terragalleria.com/parks/np.wind-cave.html">Wind Cave</a>. You can see on that page a photo with flash and one with

the cave illumination (you might need to make special arrangements for using a tripod) and see what you prefer. Potential is limited in the cave anyways.

If you are using flash which you will be since a short way away from the opening there is NO light in any cave I have been in except for Wind Cave here in Oregon which is a large lava tube with a hole in the roof about 1/2 mile down. OH back to if you are using a flash you won't need a tripod as the camera ain't gonna move much in 1/25,000 of a second or what ever you flash duration is no matter what shutter speed you set. Since it is the only source of light it is the only time you need to worry about.

Most cave photos I've seen have flashes placed off camera in several spots to light formations and tripped by radio slave. You can take decent shots of simple formations with a good flash, but I recommend bracketing both up and down. Most cave formations are light colored and the contrast is extreme. Wind Cave isn't all that windy. The cave immediately northeast of Keystone has some nice formations too. They have some artificial lighting in there and for that you typically do need a tripod. I sometimes get by with planting the camera solidly against a wall.

 

 

Kent in SD

<p>Mark, I thought Edward was talking about the wind cave in

Bend, Oregon too.

A bunch of my friends and I had a party there once. We lowered

two Kegs and

a bunch of fire wood down that hole in the cave. The fire put off

some cool

glows and shadows. The beer made it that much sweeter.

Ahhh... to be young again.

Good times :-) Don't worry, we cleaned up after ourselves... the

next morning.</p>

<p>Edward, in most tourist based caves they have colored lights

set up at key

locations that show off impressive formations. I've never been

to the cave you

speak of so I don't know if they do or not. Here's a link to the <a

href="http://www.nps.gov/wica/Speleothems.htm">wind

cave website.</a> Looks like most of the cave pictures on the

site where taken

with a flash. Have a fun time!</p>

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I was in Wind Cave (SD) last summer. There was no light and tripods were not allowed to carry in (at lease for typical visitors), so using flash may be your only choice.

I've done quite a lot of caving and to make a very long story short: assuming that there are no other sources of natural or artificial light, of course you will need a flash. However, using it the way you would do normally (that is, the flash attached to the camera) will produce dull and non-attractive photos. What you need to do is to take photos while the flash is being fired at a distance from the camera to illuminate details of the stalactites/stalagmites, the entrance of a tunnel, etc. An answer above suggested the use of radio control for synchronisation, but fortunately this is not necessary. Given that you will be working in total darkness, you can simply open the shutter on "B", and then have somebody other firing the flash on your command. You can also make multiple flash firings on the same photos by having your assistant move at different places while you keep the shutter on "B". You don't even need a good flash; I did obtain some pretty nice results with four or five assistant equipped with old instamatic cameras with built-in flash ($1 per truckload). The only things you must be careful is to ensure that the light of your headlamp (if you are wearing one) does not enter the lens or the viewfinder.

If however this is a tourist cave with permament lighting, things migtht be a little more complicated. You cannot work on "B", and given the complexity of synchroning your camera with a remote flash you will be probably better off by working with a tripod and long exposures. A note of caution: caves have 100% humidity (in some cases even supersaturated), and this will drain batteries at umbelievable speed. If you are planning to remain inside for more than 4-5 hours, you will almost certainly need to replace them. Needless to say, the replacement batteries should be carried in an air-tight container.

Photographically, Wind Cave NP was a disappointment for me. When I went (March), there were only about 5 other people in the whole NP! I don't remember tripods but another person was using a flash.

<P>

There's a lot more though in <a href="http://www.indospectrum.com/travels/dakota.html">the rest of Dakota</a> to photograph.

Raghu--

 

You barely even scratched the surface on SD photo opportunities. You missed dozens of cool places in the Black Hills alone, and that's only 10% of the state! Few people seem to know it, but South Dakota has one of the highest concentrations of natural glacial lakes in the country. The photo opportunities (especially for birds) are unlimited. You can have an entire rookery to yourself and probably be the only to photo the hundreds of birds in them that entire summer. (I've been to Ding Darling and was not impressed.) I drive ~300 miles per day here on my job, and even I haven't seen it all yet. I do manage to shoot about a roll of film (120) per day here, Monday through Friday. Winter is my favorite time of year for photography here.

 

 

Kent in SD<div></div>

Kent,

<P>

I don't doubt that for a minute. Given that all my photo trips have been scrambled weekend + 1/2 day trips, I haven't had the sort of time to really explore a lot of the beauty out there.

<P>

Lame? Yes, but it's all I've got in my defence.

<P>

I'd love to come back again and I will be sure to email you to get expert advice.

<P>

Your photo is chilling.

Thank you everybody for comments and suggestion. Both ways are fine with me. I am now ready for any kind shooting situation (at least in my mind).

<br><br>

Kent in SD :<br>

What do you think (personally) of Wind Cave and Badlands NP? I am visting this state in September, may be you have any ideas of what kind of weather I should expect? Bright sunny days, hazy, stormy clouds, or deep blue sky? Perhaps you can recommend one or two places other than these two NPs. I know Black Hills is interesting and so is Mt. Rushmore. <br><br>

Wind Cave is not your typical cave. There are few formations along the tour routes - the largest Stalactite is about 4 inches long (though the boxwork is excellent...). The cave is rough-hewn, very narrow in spots, and unlike most touristy caves was lit in straight white lighting when I was there.

 

A diffuser and some bounced flash might bring out better lighting - the flash is a must, since tripods are nigh-on useless in this cave.

 

Go to Wind Cave NP for the wildlife, and take some cave pictures on the side. Then head over to Jewel Cave for some better cave pictures (it's the same type of cave, but Jewel Cave has better formations in more accessible locations...). Then head over to Custer State Park for the Bison herd.

 

PS - the name is due to the strength of the breeze blowing out of the original entrance, not strong internal winds. Caves "breathe" out of their openings, the strength of the breeze determined by the size of the cave. Wind Cave is not even close to fully explored; some theorize it may reach all the way to Jewel Cave. The cave's configuration makes exploration difficult.