Looooong exposures are your friend

[misterx]

So I went to the quarry cave again, this time with nonspecific. I hooked up the remote switch and set the camera to the bulb setting, so I could hold the shutter open as long as I wanted. Then came the fun part... using my extra-bright flashlights to "paint" the cave with light, only lighting the areas I wanted. It was nearly dark by the time we left, and definitely dark by the time we made it back to the car. As nightfall approached, a heavy mist settled into the cave, making for a surreal experience. When the lights were off, it was pure black, and when on, it seemed pure white, and you could barely see any better. Also strange, was that just 10 or 15 feet apart, and I couldn't understand Kara at all, due to all the echoes. In short, I had a blast. :)

Then suddenly, photos:

Near the entrance:

Exposure Time: 30.000 s
Aperture: f/5.0
ISO equiv: 400
Lighting: natural lighting from left, lesser so from right, fill-in by flashlight



Side chamber:

Exposure Time: 77.000 s
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO equiv: 800
Lighting: generous and erratic use of 2 high-power flashlights :)


Side chamber:

Exposure Time: 156.000 s
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO equiv: 800
Lighting: No flashlights close the camera or within line-of-site of the lens. Two flashlights were held fairly still for about 45 seconds, and then waved around for fill lighting for the remainder. This seemed to work well, and cut down on the mist haze, getting a crisp view of the far wall.


I also took more HRDI fodder, we'll see how that goes.