Video shot as I was getting ready to make some HDR source images. Always be extremely careful when dealing with ice caves. Many are not safe at all so perform a good survey of the scene and judge integrity, traction, and overall security. It is also a great idea to not do this alone. With at least one other person assistance/rescue gets much easier.
The textures, color, and tonal range inside the cave were amazing. Shooting here was a challenge. The biggest issue was the melt water. Keeping the camera and lens relatively dry required full protection. I do not use any fancy type of rain gear. I prefer fish fillet bags and rubber bands or gaffer's tape. They make a simple, effective, and economical solution. Light levels overall were low so I used a tripod. Tripod setup was a little challenging with very slippery, uneven terrain (ice) as the cave floor. The ability to rapidly adjust my tripod leg length and angle was very helpful.
I shot a single image to assess the tones and decided I needed to shoot multiples to cover the entire range. For the HDRs on this blog, I shot only three source files at -2, 0, and +2 E.V with a Canon 5D Mk II. This gave me about 9ish stops of usable data which worked perfectly. Had I needed more shots I had my Promote Control with me.
HDR processed with HDR Efex Pro from Nik
I used Nik's HDR Efex Pro for this scene. As many of you know I am not all that faithful to one HDR software. I primarily find myself using Photomatix Pro but I will almost always try other options and pick the best result. Sometimes my final result is a blend of output from different programs. For this shot I wanted the result to show texture more than anything else. Click on the attached images for a larger version since only when big will the real texture come out.
On this version I pulled some saturation and pushed texture a bit more.
Now I need to go back in July with my Fisheye. Of course, this cave will be gone but I should be able to find another. Come out and join me.
Fiat Lux!
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