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Shadow Photog

Photographer sneaking around the Cave, looking for the best places, angles, motif... And while he can elegantly walk along the nice and even concrete path, his ...
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Photographer sneaking around the Cave, looking for the best places, angles, motif... And while he can elegantly walk along the nice and even concrete path, his shadow has to cover bumps, points, blades and cavitations of the rough walls... Makes you think how Peter Pan's shadow would simply become angry and detach... ;)
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OLYMPUS SP570UZ

settings

Aperture f/2.8 ISO 400 Shutter 10/20 Focal Length 460/100

upload_date

Feb, 2016

Views

158

Likes

+21

Awards

People's Choice in INSIDE THE WOMB OF THE EARTH Photo Challenge

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Magnificent Capture

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Love it

Outstanding Creativity

Emotions

Impressed

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 2

Top 30 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I made the photo inside the "Vrelo" cave (Fuzine, Croatia)

Time

As the camera diligently noted, the Date/Time Original was 07-Feb-09 11:46:18

Lighting

Here's all about it: Shutter speed 1/2 s, F-number f/2.8, ISO 400, 0.00 eV, Metering mode Pattern, Flash Off, Focal length 4.6 mm. The cave's ambiental lighting consists of a variety of lightsources - from Neon Fluo tubes and Tungsten bulbs thru Halogene reflectors. The whole range has to be considered "as is", since there is no specific color temperature anywhere; rather, the whole mix of various sources and/or intensities. So I shot using the camera's Daylight setting, and hoping I'd be able to recover the color range to match the best to what I remembered.

Equipment

My camera at the time was an Olympus SP570UZ prosumer, an excellent go-anywhere, shoot-anything model. In the cave I shot a lot of photos using the tripod, but some shots were also made right out of hand if the lightsource of that specific location was more intensive. This one was exposed off the tripod, using the camera's wired remote trigger.

Inspiration

All underground spaces are a huge inspiration in general, so no-one really needs any special motivations. The disfigured shadow of a friend of mine, who was at the time concentrating on one of his own shots, immediately looked good as a standalone theme. It added to the mystic atmosphere of the place!

Editing

Not much. It is hard to remember exactly, but I must have tweaked the contrast a bit, so as to pronounce the shadow better. Otherwise the shot is as completely accurate as I can recal it.

In my camera bag

A standard question here gets a standard answer! So I have this answer ready, and just cleverly copy / paste! I find it easier to carry a photo vest than any photo bag. So I load my photo vest with whatever I might need for my photo session, walk or trip, while my photo bags usually keep the equipment I'm not using at the moment. This was especially useful in the cave, because there were some spots where I had to squeeze between the rock walls to enter some canals... and still keep all my equipment with me. Besides, there is a lot of water in the cave. Some is dripping from the darkness above, the other you have to splash through, you always lean on some wet, trickling spots... and a photo vest under the waterproof clothing seems to me the safest way to protect the gear. Add to it the helmet with acetylene (open-flame) lighting which gets doused every now and again by a random drop - you'll also want to have as many free hands for all sorts of purposes as you can spare. Usually, my vest's many pockets will contain two cameras, spare batteries, ND and CPL filters, and one photo clamp standing in for a tripod. Recently I include a small action camera, mainly for its wide field of view and resistance to water and weather. The vest also has large-lens pockets that contain a small water bottle, sandwich, or a bar of chocolate if I plan on being out for the whole day. There is about three meters length of paracord or similar strong, thin rope, one hefty pocket knife, and a lighter. My smartphone comes along too. It has yet another spare camera, but more importantly the Spirit Level App to make the phone a perfectly horizontal surface under the camera. This is essential for panoramic sweeps. The app is free, and requires no extra permissions whatsoever. The large back pocket of the vest is reserved for a lightweight rain poncho. If the weather suddenly plays up, the poncho neatly covers all. Using the tools mentioned above, much can be improvised along the way, so that's all I need to make photos.

Feedback

For such space, "travel light - go far" principle is self-explanatory. So keep your gear within the essentials, and keep it well-covered and protected from water, knocks and drops. I'd say, invest in a good amphibious camera for safe use in any underground shoots. A tough camera is an investment that protects itself. Since your themes will be rather near, you'll have not much need for long zoom. My spare camera at the time was an Olympus TG-2, but since the cave "Vrelo" is exceptionally well adapted for all kinds of visits through 90% of its length, I was able to use a non-waterproof cameras as well. This is not always the case, though. Worth noting is, I could have made all the photos shot in there by the TG-2 alone! So, think about a water- and shock-proof "sidearm", and you'll find it seriously useful in similar, and also many other situations.

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Shadow Photog

Photographer sneaking around the Cave, looking for the best places, angles, motif... And while he can elegantly walk along the nice and even concrete path, his ... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow LookSee

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Photographer sneaking around the Cave, looking for the best places, angles, motif... And while he can elegantly walk along the nice and even concrete path, his ...
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