Missouri has a lot of caves, believe it or not. The is the "Bridal Cave," at the Lake of the Ozarks, in mid-Missouri. It is a huge space, which goes quite far back (the tour lasted one hour, up and back). I left the stairs in, for scale. The ceiling is over 20 feet tall - taller, in some points. The rock formations were graceful and very, very old. It is called the "Bridal Cave," because Native Americans used to celebrate wedding ceremonies in front of the main "veil" at the entrance. This space was quite challenging to photograph and process, because of the wide swings of light and contrast.
I don't usually suggest this, but it is much better on black, if you have time.
It has been busy again, with travel, conferences, etc., but I hope to catch up soon. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate each visit.
10/1/2020: Finished year 7 (!), with continuing gratitude towards this amazing community. Based in St. Louis, MO. Regular worker-bee and self-taught photography dilettante....
@amandal@lindasees@melston Thanks, ladies. The lighting is very... umm.. dramatic (?). A kind way of saying it. Processing in LR really helps the image, that is for sure. This is NOT an SOOC shot. ;)
I can imagine this would be difficult to photograph with all the lighting and the shadows from the stalactites and 'mites! Glad to learn about this! fav
Fascinating photo and I'll bet the caves are amazing! I visited Mammoth
Caves in Kentucky once but my photos weren't so good because the light
was dim. Great job on this one!
This is wonderfully dramatic, and you have brought out the details so well. They have musical concerts in some caves in Australia as the acoustics are so good. I wonder if they do the same there.
I've always wanted to see these -- interesting to read about the garish lighting and tricky photography. You really took care of that perfectly -- it looks glorious on black - bringing out the subtle shadings that are lost against the white. It's huge!!
It is indeed stunning on black. My family has quite a history (to this day) with the Carlsbad Caverns, and the early photographers had to learn how to do it themselves. When "National Geographic" first came to visit, the local photographers had to show them how to do it. @mbemis
You have really done well - I know how difficult cave photography is, with the wide range of light and all the people in the tour groups - difficult just to get a clear shot!
Caves in Kentucky once but my photos weren't so good because the light
was dim. Great job on this one!