My caving images in the local paper

DuncanDisorderly

DuncanDisorderly

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Really chuffed with this :)
Published centre spread in today's Wells Journal.

Some of you may have spotted my "Cave Photography - Advice Needed" thread a while ago; eventually I started getting the images I've been hoping for.
The project is very much still alive. Not only do I have a bunch of new images since I submitted to the paper, but I've a few more photo trips already planned.
There is a danger though; I seem to be enjoying the caving more than I expected.
This weekend is the first time I'll be heading underground without a camera and if I complete the planned route then I'll be able to admit to being a caver and not just a photographer with a caving project. The Short Round Trip in Swildons Hole is close to the limit of what my shoulders can fit through and I'm not expecting it to be easy :eek:

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Good stuff. :clap:

As this *is* photography related though I think it could go in the main "Talk Photography" area just as well.
 
Moved for you and well done :)
 
Cheers both :beer:

@Diving Pete - If you fancy meeting some of the local cave divers while you are down here, PM me and I pass the info on.
I've actually got two trips this weekend.
Friday is a run down to Sump 2 with a group led by Sarah (cave diver), Saturday I'm being shoe-horned through the Short Round Trip by Mad Fi (cave diver).
It's going to take the rest of the Easter break to recover!
 
If that's you stood beside Fi in the small shot in the middle, you'd better take some Vaseline as well as that shoe-horn!!!
Enjoy it, Duncan.
 
Nope - that is Sarah, my main cave guide - I think Mad Fi is slightly smaller :wacky:
Sometimes they forget I'm with them and go at their usual speed, it's like watching a greased rat disappear down a drainpipe!
It's not my height that's the main problem, it's the depth of my shoulders. I'll probably have to breath out to fit through the squeeze.
 
great spread and not somehting thats published very often so well done getting yours in there :)
 
Good article on your caving venture. So I presume you will be going through sump 1 on your roundtrip, there is a good photograph to be had on the other side.
 
Nikon Fan said:
Good article on your caving venture. So I presume you will be going through sump 1 on your roundtrip, there is a good photograph to be had on the other side.
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Cheers :beer:

One of the photos is underwater at sump 1, and I've been to sump 2 twice before.
Seems OK to me, can't work out what all the fuss is about ;)

The spread's main pic is of The Landing, which is in Swildons 2.
Plenty more to be had from that part of the system as the streamway is SO photogenic in that section; but it's far enough that it isn't a casual trip and so far I've only taken my camera through just once.
That shot of The Landing was a 5 hour trip:wideyed:
 
Done GB, but not up the ladder; definitely one to get back to soon.
They are also keen to get my camera down St Cuthberts and Fairy Cave Quarry.
But for now I'm quite happy exploring Swildons Hole :)
 
Fairy Cave Quarry is well worth getting into, if I remember right, I think group size is three plus leader. St Cuthberts is quite a strenuous trip but good fun.

Here is a image from the Ladder Dig.
View attachment 34103
 
Nice image!

I think the main reason they want me up the ladder dig is to have a crack at photographing the Great Chamber, the largest space under Mendip until the Frozen Deep was discovered recently.
My main cave guide Sarah says she hasn't seen any images that do it justice.
I'm not sure I'll do any better as there are some darned good cave photographers who have already been in there and I'll have to totally change my technique to photograph in a space that size as I'm already pushing the hand-held, high-ISO method as hard as I can get away with.

One of the nice things about sharing my images online is that I'm getting offers to take me down all sorts of caves including Fairy Cave and GB. One intriguing offer is to visit an Ochre mine; the colours look amazing!
But I'm quite happy with Swildons Hole and will keep going there till I get bored of it; it's building a nice body of work from a single location :)
 
Tiny tripod and long exposure? You'll be wet and muddy so lying down to compose on a tiny tripod shouldn't be an issue
Perhaps a bit of light painting?
 
To light up large chambers, I use a tripod and remote. Then I will just light up one area at a time with each exposure. Then once back at the computer, you can open up each image as a layer and blend them all together.
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
I think the main reason they want me up the ladder dig is to have a crack at photographing the Great Chamber, the largest space under Mendip until the Frozen Deep was discovered recently.
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Hope your guide knows the way, as we must had spent ages trying to get into the Great Chamber, it looked so easy on the survey, but so many dead ends through all those boulders. But we got there in the end.
 
Thanks both - good advice.
I've taken my tripod down a few times; it's much easier without it!
And I've got both flash slaves, remote triggers and have done light painting above ground.
I'll need all of them for a crack at the Great Chamber :)

I suspect the it's not just the technical aspects of lighting the vast space, but to light it in a way that shows the shape in an aesthetically pleasing way - from what I've seen, this is a particularly challenging cavern to get right.
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
I suspect the it's not just the technical aspects of lighting the vast space, but to light it in a way that shows the shape in an aesthetically pleasing way - from what I've seen, this is a particularly challenging cavern to get right.
Click to expand...

Make sure you have some people in the shot, as this will give the Chamber more scale.
 
For amusement...
Just back from my first full-on caving trip, the Swildons Short Round Trip with Mad Fi as my guide. I hyper-ventilated going through the first duck. The Birthday Squeeze was properly borderline (large shoulders), but I got through. On the way out I walked into a Stalagtite and deformed the helmet lining so badly one of the rivets went into my forehead (I know this part of cave, I was really tired). My arms are covered in bruises and I suspect getting up tomorrow is really going to hurt. But WOW I feel alive at the mo - still buzzing with adrenaline.
No camera on this trip though...

@Nikon Fan - Thanks for posting on ukCaving.
If you are in Mendip and fancy a combined photo trip please give me a shout.
 
I'm now discovering that it isn't actually a 'bog-standard' caving trip, and that I've done quite well.
My caving guides (and friends) are so experienced that 'they' regard it as a standard trip, but the rest of the universe has a different perspective.
Took me over 24 hours to come off the adrenaline high - and this is still legal ?
 
I've met Duncan Price - there are too many Duncans on Mendip; someone is going to have to change their name.
It's quite disconcerting; Duncan is not THAT common.

Mad Fi - brilliant!
She took me on my first trip to Sump 2 and my only time on the round trip.
Happily cave with her on any trip she is comfortable taking me on, except Priddy Green Sink where I suspect she is just winding me up, but you never know with Fi :)

Cheers!
Have since been down Eastwater and St Cuthberts. Both are significantly harder trips than the round trip.
Still wearing bruises from St Cuthberts.
Will be taking my photo gear down St Cuthberts this week and it's almost certainly going to be the toughest thing I've ever attempted.
If I don't post in the latter part of the week, you will know why....
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
Will be taking my photo gear down St Cuthberts this week and it's almost certainly going to be the toughest thing I've ever attempted.
If I don't post in the latter part of the week, you will know why....
Click to expand...

Oh dear, that's a worry, Friday already!
 
LOL - it was seriously tough. Two days later and I'm still struggling to get up from bent knees. Plus my camera gear has never been so muddy; the hazards of a 'dry' cave.
Caving images don't see to go down quite so well here, so posted on Facebook and UKCaving. Never had such a huge response - amazing!
Back down there this coming week to take the camera gear in to new territory.

Here's the image that got most people talking.
The location has been done a million times (Railway Tunnel), but I'm dead chuffed with it anyway :)
I can't recollect exactly where I put them, but there is a flash, five LED lights plus Estelle's head lamp contributing to this image.
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Of the other images, most non-cavers seem surprised about the scale of Cascade and like this image; but it's not the cavers pick from the set :)
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Congratulations Duncan

I really like the last one.

I'm not one for caves but I enjoy my climbs. The sense of scale in this shot and the light on the rock formations appeals to me.
 
I love the shot of sump 1. It reminds me of the first time I went through sump 1 with my son. Is the Wookey Hole sign still down there?
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
Caving images don't see to go down quite so well here,
Click to expand...

You sound surprised at that. Maybe if you could take one with a nice sunset in it? :D

I find them interesting as pictures and technical exercises. :)
 
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@dinners Quite a few cavers climb when the weather is too good to head underground; there's a lot in common.
I'd rate quite a few cave sections I've done as a grade 3S scramble. In other words there are bold moves and the guide advises a rope. The main difference is a lot of the climbing is very 3D needing use of all the walls in reach, not just the one in front of the climber.
When the grade gets tougher, most cavers resort to ladders and SRT, but the top cavers regularly free climb quite scary pitches.
I suspect a climber being taken underground for the first time would enjoy it, but whether they would want to do more trips is a different matter.

This shot is only a medium size cavern. This week I'll be taken to my first large (200ft x 50ft) cavern to see what I can do with it.
I'm a bit worried about having enough light to fill the space and I'm expecting I'll need at least two trips before I get my technique sorted out.

@dekeyboy Yes - the sign is still there!
Fantastic placement; makes me chuckle every time I see it :)

@Ed Sutton It is very technical and is the hardest subject I've ever photographed.
It's not just bunging some light into the cave as it is easy to end up with flat lighting resulting in no depth to the scene and an image that is just rock texture. The shape of the cave and the look of the resulting image is 100% under my control. It is a delicious challenge!
What is odd is that all the cave photographers I've met are cavers who have picked up a camera. Many photographers like a challenge, it seems strange that more photographers haven't given underground photography a go.
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
Many photographers like a challenge, it seems strange that more photographers haven't given underground photography a go.
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Besides, caves look claustrophbic, wet and dirty. Who'd take a camera down there but a mad person? :D

I think in areas like 'adventure sports' the whole palaver of actually doing it is what puts photographers off. I had a spell of photographing kiteboarders. It wasn't until I got in the water that the action pictures got better. Trouble is it got dangerous (they don't half shift!) - and I can't swim... Those same factors keep me out of caves, even without a camera.;)

I'd be interested to know more about the LED lights you are using as I'd like to try them for fishing photos at night.
 
@Ed Sutton That'll be me then :)
I used to head up the mountains and do a lot of high grade scrambling. The only way I can take a camera into places like that is to not worry about it. Same with caving. Last trip my camera bag was taken through a rift for me as I was having a lot of trouble just getting myself through. The Peli case creates a resonant thump which echoes round the cave. When I'm carrying the bag it doesn't bother me, but hearing the camera getting abused by someone else really made me cringe.

Here's the lighting...
There are two dive lights, small one is about 300 lumen and the big one about 1500 lumen, both are variable brightness. They are great for placing under waterfalls and in streams to light the water. The big one has a focussed beam that is hard to use as a light source, so I carry a flash diffuser which works a treat.
Then there are two DSLR video lights; they are £15 each from 7 day shop and even come with a bracket for side mounting. Superb bits of kit and I use them for fill lighting. These are not weather sealed, so I double bag them in freezer bags.
The two main lights are rechargeable LED floodlights, a 10W and a 20W; here's a link to the 20W. They provide a lovely flat light over a huge angle. Great bits of kit! Despite being weather sealed I use them in a freezer bag to keep mud and water off them.
I also occasionally supplement the LED lighting with flash. I'm not a huge fan of flash; way too hard to set the shot up and bracketing the exposure is a real pig. The flash is triggered with cheap radio triggers bought from eBay.

I carry the dive lights, video lights, flash, triggers, spare batteries and a cloth to wipe my hands in a Darren Barrel. This allows me to swim and dive with them when needed as well as adding considerable protection.
I recently killed one of the floodlights diving though a sump when the double bagging leaked; so I'm now carrying them them in a roll-top waterproof bag with the freezer bag still used but is now just for protection while they are being used.
The camera goes in a Peli case which has proven dive-proof and offers superb protection from being banged about.
The whole lot is carried in a Petzl expedition sack designed for caving; really tough PVC with lots of handles and attachment points for hanging on a rope.

Having read this back I think I can see why there aren't many cave photographers :)

However, this next shot was a lightweight trip and I only took the two video lights and my trusty X30 in the Darren Barrel.
The quality is surprisingly good, but I was only lighting the relatively small area in the field of view.
20150415-190657-DSCF3995-M.jpg
 
DuncanDisorderly said:
Having read this back I think I can see why there aren't many cave photographers :)
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Indeed!!! :D I get the impression that you'd be almost as likely to go caving without a camera.

Thanks for the info. Thinking about artificial lighting makes my brain hurt (actually it just switches off after a minute or two...), but in the dark it's almost essential. I'll check out the lights you mention.
 
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Ed Sutton said:
Thanks for the info. Thinking about artificial lighting makes my brain hurt (actually it just switches off after a minute or two...), but in the dark it's almost essential. I'll check out the lights you mention.
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Before I started this project I'd done very little studio photography and classed myself as an available light kind of person.
It's been part of the challenge and I'm sure the rest of my photography will benefit as I now have a much better appreciation of how light affects the resulting image.

Another thing that was new to me was having to pose my models.
I take a lot of images at events with people in them, for example here a link to some images from a recent sculpture trail preparation day.
But they are opportunistic and semi-candid; and this is totally different.
Giving models clear instructions is something I hadn't really thought about, but feedback from the models strongly indicated I needed to get better at it.

It's an important part of the image and if they don't look right it kills the image.
For example, here's a beautifully lit location but the resulting image doesn't work because I didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted the model to do. I've had a think and the next attempt ought to be much better.
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