D A T E : DECEMBER 9, 2012
L O C A T I O N : SUHOT CAVE, DUMALAG, CAPIZ, WESTERN VISAYAS, VISAYAS, PHILIPPINES
C A M E R A : SONY NEX5N
L E N S : SONY E 16MM F/2.8
F I L T E R : NONE
M O U N T : HANDHELD
L I G H T : FLASHLIGHT
S E T T I N G S : MANUAL MODE | ISO12,800 | 1/20 SEC | F/2.8
P O S T - P R O C E S S I N G N O T E S : BASIC CURVES
I find caves to be extremely challenging to capture on camera. They’re damp, slippery, cramped, stuffy and most of all extremely dark. Not only does it pose a problem for taking exposures when the ultimate ingredient of a photograph is light but it can also pose serious injuries to the unprepared and the clumsy, like me.
Bringing in a tripod is out of the question unless you are traveling solo and can afford to do minutes-long exposures and light paintings without making your friends pull their hair with impatience. Using flash on the other hand totally destroys the cave atmosphere. The only options really are just to crank your camera’s ISO to maximum--noise be damned--and be creative with your flashlights.
Afterwhich, you just hope and pray that your shots are in focus after you upload them to your computer.