Luray Caverns blow out

[pharris201]

I went to the caverns for the first time. I was told the lighting was harsh but I thought I could conquer it. Well the rules state that you have to keep up with your group and I was shooting 30 second exposures with the next group breathing down on me.
Any advice on how to either fix what I have or re-shoot will be appreciated. This turned out to be brutal.

As always thank you.




20s (20/1)
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18mm
Metering: pattern
Exposure Program: aperture priority
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Exposure Mode: auto
White Balance: auto

[digirebelva]

high iso is your friend in this situation, you basically went in blind, on a tight timetable...not a conductive scenario for good picture taking. It looks like your exposure was a tad bit long, but with layer masks you can probably tone down the hot spots.

[kcoppock]

Guided tours piss me off. I wish they'd offer a special "photographer tour" at least, that they could charge extra for, but just allow people to stay down there longer.

I think it's still an interesting shot -- you got a nice reflection. Did you try pulling down the exposure in RAW and see if you could pull any of the highlights back?

[pharris201]

Kevin
I am going to ask for "off season" or weekday tour and see what they say. W/R to the raw yes i tried to pull down the exposure but the brights are blown. My thought was to shoot 3 exposures 2 stops apart and use photomatrix to bring out the full spectrum. I'd have been arrested if I stayed 4 or 5 minutes in one spot to try that on a Saturday in June in Virginia.

[kcoppock]

Originally Posted by pharris201

Kevin
I am going to ask for "off season" or weekday tour and see what they say. W/R to the raw yes i tried to pull down the exposure but the brights are blown. My thought was to shoot 3 exposures 2 stops apart and use photomatrix to bring out the full spectrum. I'd have been arrested if I stayed 4 or 5 minutes in one spot to try that on a Saturday in June in Virginia.

Definitely can't hurt to ask!

I imagine HDR would be an excellent technique to use for lit cavern photos, but yeah, it would take a pretty significant amount of time to get it right.

[pharris201]

digirebelva,
Hi ISO? I am not sure why. Darks and high ISO usually don't fit. Yes i was using a tripod and exposures were running about 30sec at F8 with a 100 ISO. Tell me more. Ill post the meta.

[Krusty79]

There are a lot of interesting details in the cave, but the image lacks a focal point and my eye doesn't know where to settle. I know you probably didn't have a lot of time to compose the shot, though.

[pharris201]

Krusty
You are right on both points. The whole shoot was approximatly 40 shots. They all have the same characteristics, but some do have better composition.

[Doug Sundseth]

High ISO and dark don't fit?

1) Beg to differ. Both long exposure and high ISO will increase sensor noise, one from sensor heating and the other from amplification of the noise floor. Push the ISO as high as you can stand the noise (and if you have Lightroom, at least, probably one stop farther), then clean up the noise a bit in post. You should be able to get at least three stops back with any fairly recent camera just by raising the ISO. With some cameras you can get five or more stops back.

2) Buy or rent a fast lens. Most major camera manufacturers sell a fast (F2 or lower) 50mm lens for around $100. Or you can rent or buy a shorter fast prime for a price that won't likely break the bank. With an F2 lens, you can get three stops back from the F6.3 you were shooting. You'll pay the price in limited depth of field, but short focal length lenses have a pretty short hyperfocal distance (see Online Depth of Field Calculator, for instance), so that might still work.

Since you said that your pics were a bit over exposed, I'll work from the assumption that you would have been fine at a 16 second exposure (time chosen for convenience of the math). Just upping the ISO will pull you down to the 1/2 to 2 second range. Adding an F2 lens would pull you down to the 1/16 to 1/4 second range, which is well within the handheld speed range for an IS/VR/OS short lens, and certainly within the monopod range even without stabilization.

HTH

[pharris201]

WOW Thanks Doug

That I did not know. I do have a fast 50mm 1.8. I am going to experiement with this and see what happens. I still sort of new and still have a lot to learn.