Road Trip#6: Caves
Kory Lidstrom
Registered Users Posts: 251 Major grins
This is the sixth post in my series from my 32 day road trip through the western US.
"Underworld" (Larger version and EXIF can be found here.)
Over the years, I've been to New Mexico at least a dozen times. I've often thought about stopping at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but always ended up passing it up in favor of more traditional desert locales. Now I know that was a mistake. Carlsbad Caverns NP is really something. It's like a page taken right out of a fantasy novel -- Tolkien would wet his pants if he saw the place!
For a photographer, the opportunites are many. The caves have a ton of variety: some are quite large, with rooms easily a hundred yards wide, while others are very small and intimate. And, the formations are even more varied, ranging from huge stalactites to small pools of water to deep chasms and everything in between.
Of course, all of that is great, but the most crucial thing in any cave (especially one that is 750 feet below the surface) is obvious: the light. And, for a photographer, that's the best part of it all. All throughout the park the Park Service has done an excellent job of installing beautiful colored ambient lighting which really adds to the drama of the scene. They've installed the lights in such a way that you rarely can see a light directly -- reflected light is all you get, which is great for us photogs as it eliminates potential image-wrecking hot spots.
If this sounds like something you'd like to see, then you may want to do it sooner than later. A ranger told me that within the next couple of years, they're going to be replacing all the lights with a newer type that makes it easier to see, but won't be as dramatic or colorful. Great for everyone else, not so great for us photogs.
Oh, and it goes without saying that you MUST bring your tripod. If you come early, there is almost no one there and you will have plenty of room to place your tripod wherever you want.
"The Chandelier" (Larger version and EXIF can be found here.)
These are the most impressive stalactites I saw. To give you some perspective, the largest ones in the center of the frame are easily a good ten feet long, probably more. Their actual name is "The Chandelier", so I can't take credit for thinking it up.
"Underworld" (Larger version and EXIF can be found here.)
Over the years, I've been to New Mexico at least a dozen times. I've often thought about stopping at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, but always ended up passing it up in favor of more traditional desert locales. Now I know that was a mistake. Carlsbad Caverns NP is really something. It's like a page taken right out of a fantasy novel -- Tolkien would wet his pants if he saw the place!
For a photographer, the opportunites are many. The caves have a ton of variety: some are quite large, with rooms easily a hundred yards wide, while others are very small and intimate. And, the formations are even more varied, ranging from huge stalactites to small pools of water to deep chasms and everything in between.
Of course, all of that is great, but the most crucial thing in any cave (especially one that is 750 feet below the surface) is obvious: the light. And, for a photographer, that's the best part of it all. All throughout the park the Park Service has done an excellent job of installing beautiful colored ambient lighting which really adds to the drama of the scene. They've installed the lights in such a way that you rarely can see a light directly -- reflected light is all you get, which is great for us photogs as it eliminates potential image-wrecking hot spots.
If this sounds like something you'd like to see, then you may want to do it sooner than later. A ranger told me that within the next couple of years, they're going to be replacing all the lights with a newer type that makes it easier to see, but won't be as dramatic or colorful. Great for everyone else, not so great for us photogs.
Oh, and it goes without saying that you MUST bring your tripod. If you come early, there is almost no one there and you will have plenty of room to place your tripod wherever you want.
"The Chandelier" (Larger version and EXIF can be found here.)
These are the most impressive stalactites I saw. To give you some perspective, the largest ones in the center of the frame are easily a good ten feet long, probably more. Their actual name is "The Chandelier", so I can't take credit for thinking it up.
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