492 - Carlsbad Caverns
Cave photography for me has slowly developed into a game of “what do you see in the inkblot?” Except this wasn’t an ordinary cave. Ohhhhh, no.
Today’s adventure was at Carlsbad Caverns. And after a much needed day of rest (from a 24 shooting bender), I was ready to get my camera out again. Carlsbad Caverns, if you didn’t know, is one of the oldest cave systems in the world. It features over 30 miles of caverns, 3 miles of which are available for visitors to walk through.
The catch is that it’s deep underground. In order to get to it, you either have to take an elevator or walk down the height of the Empire State Building. Of course, we ventured for the former because who wouldn’t want to walk down into a cave?
Upon arrival, I realized this place wasn’t going to be like the other two caves I’ve shot, Glenwood Caverns and Wind Cave. Both gave me significant difficulty, mainly because it takes a minute to figure out how to shoot a cave. The lighting is strange, the humidity can be wacky, and the angles are limiting.
This place, for one, was absolutely massive. Just take a look at this entrance foyer:
“Queue to Hell”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 2000 ~ 19mm ~ f/4.5 ~ 1/1000s]
(Want a Print? Get it here.)
Glenwood Caverns and Wind Cave ain’t got shit on this place. Wait until you see the inside.
Oh, and fun fact about that shot, those birds aren’t bats. You’d think they would be seeing as this is a cave and all, but they’re actually sparrows. Apparently they enjoy nesting in the entrance.
Also before we continue, I have a little disclaimer. If you’re looking at this (and the following photos) in a lit room, it might be difficult to fully see them. They’re best observed in the dark. Since it’s cave photography, I left them on the darker end to keep the mood.
Once we walked down into the foyer, the sunlight began to fade. I felt a chill go down my spine as I saw the last leak of light from above. We’d be underground now for the next 2-3 hours. Here’s a photo I got to capture that moment:
"Last of the Light”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 1000 ~ 28mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/30s]
(Want a Print? Get it here.)
As you can see, this place is huge. Almost all the caverns are this size. And as we descended lower, my fascination began to increase. Caves were always a bit “meh” for me mainly because they were so cramped, but this place changed that. This place was Mother’s Nature’s wet dream. Literally.
Stalactites were everywhere. Pools of water were abundant. And the lighting of the place was fantastic. Whoever engineered the visitor experience clearly knew what they were doing. I don’t even know how they got lights into half of the places.
The most difficult part of shooting this place was figuring out how to capture the scale here. I think that photo did fairly well, however. The key is to have multiple reference points, including a human. Also notice how the photo is divided into two parts. Else it’s impossible to tell the size of things. Something that’s hundreds of feet tall can look three feet tall in a photo. Darkness really takes away your depth sensors.
I figured it was time to go small. I had to embrace the “inkblot theory” I have for cave photography. Basically you look for shapes in the rocks, then edit them to fit your narrative. (AKA turn them sideways, darken parts out, crop, etc.) Here’s a couple examples of photos I took:
"Hole in Heart”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 400 ~ 30mm ~ f/7.1 ~ 1/3s]
(Want a Print? Get it here.)
“Teeth from Below”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 500 ~ 24mm ~ f/6.3 ~ 0.5s]
(Want a Print? Get it here.)
“Mouse Skull”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1000 ~ 70mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/10s]
(Want a Print? Get it here.)
I wonder what those inkblots say about my psychology?
As we kept walking, I started getting creeped out. It got to the point of the tour where there were random holes in the ground that just disappeared into the darkness. Who knew how long they went or how deep they were? If you fell in one you’d probably never get out…
I imagined a massive beetle with needle teeth crawling around down there.
The crazy thing is that people have been exploring this cave for decades. It dates back to 1898. Check out this old ladder built by explorers used to go deeper into the cave:
“Down the Shitter”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1000 ~ 24mm ~ f/8 ~ 1/10s]
(Want a Print? Get it here.)
It looks like something straight out of a horror flick. Goddamn that’s the shit of nightmares.
Luckily there’s people literally everywhere and well lit paths, so it’s hard to get too in your head. Not to mention the park rangers that stay down there for hours tell passerby’s random facts about the cave. Craziest job on Earth.
We finished our tour after about 3 hours of walking and were exhausted. It’s quite the distance down there. We took the elevator up and stepped into the blistering sun. WHEW. What a contrast to down below.
Ironically, on the next adventure we go to White Sands National Park, which is the complete opposite of this place. But at the same time… similar. Stay tuned.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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