In the caverns

[Darkhorsepics]

I've posted a couple of photos on another forum only to find that no one would offer any critique, so I hope someone here will. This is a photo I took while inside the caverns at Luray, VA. I shot it with a Canon 400D, ISO 800, f5.6, 1/125 (I can't remember if I am supposed to list anything else so please forgive me if I left out something important.)

I should add that I am completely green at this photography thing, but I find it very interesting. I hope to become really good at it some day. I've only just started with the hobby, but I would love to know what anyone thinks, or any suggestions anyone may have for improving this shot.

Thanks!

[Doug Sundseth]

I went to Carlsbad Caverns NP late in 2010 and again late in 2011 (I have a grandmother who lives in Roswell, NM, so it's convenient when we visit her). After looking at the photos from the first trip, I decided that a single flash does not work well for this subject and decided to use the installed lighting to shoot in "ambient" only. This means high ISO and long exposures, but it worked reasonably well.

The other problem I ran into is finding subjects. When you're there, everything is amazing. But you have to think about the same compositional issues you would anywhere else. You need a specific subject for the photo (which I'm afraid this photo lacks a bit), and you need to place it in a pleasing arrangement that draws the eye of the viewer to the feature you want to highlight.

Since interesting caverns are extremely visually complex, your biggest challenge (after light) is likely to be to simplify the image until it becomes comprehensible. Look for interesting arrangements of a very few well-lit speleothems and place them a bit off center. Use the rest of the cavern as a background to provide context.

[Darkhorsepics]

I definitely see what you mean about composition of the photo. It looked really interesting through the view finder on the camera, but as a complete photograph it doesn't seem to have a subject.

I think I might have some others where I used the lighting within the caverns to my advantage. If I can find a decent one, I will post it.

Thank you for the critique!