This is one of the most unique natural features in all of Oregon. These three light beams can be seen shining through the holes in the roof of the cave, but only for a few days before and after the summer solstice. And you also have to be in the cave on a clear day between 10AM to noon during this time to catch this event. After I photographed the beams and resurfaced from the cave there was a young couple getting ready to descend on a rope through one of the holes in the roof. Now that would’ve been an interesting photo to capture, as they came down into the cave within one of the rays of light. But I decided at that moment that my day was done.
Feedback Requests
General feedback would be welcome.
Pertinent Technical Details
Canon 80D, 18-135mm lens @ 18mm
F/8, 5 sec @ ISO 400
Processed in LR, with shadows lifted a bit to reveal more texture in the walls of the cave.
@Ted_Forman The composition looks very good to me. The hot spots on the floor are tough to deal with as you’re probably looking at a ±12-stop overexposure for daylight. It seems you did very well with the situation in my opinion. The story is great too.
Unique and lovely! In today’s world you might get away with a very large range HDR for the floor and blend that with the exposure you have for the rest.
I think I would have hung around to catch that climber on the rope The light on the floor seems a tad hot, but perhaps the rays were that strong in your viewing. An intriguing shot. Good timing.
Ted, this is a neat look at crepuscular rays…not the usual peaking through clouds in the sky. I think you chose well how to expose this as an exposure taming the hot spots would have left the entire cave floor black. This shows the interior of the cave well with the rays standing out strongly.
Wow! Sounds like an effort well worth the photo you made! Too bad about the host spots, but it is certainly to be expected given the extreme dynamic range you were dealing with. Love the goldiness of the cave interior. Beautiful image Ted!
Thank you @Fred_Lord@Diane_Miller@madd_laura@Mark_Seaver and @Connie_McClaran for your comments and feedback. At first I wished I had bracketed exposures and then blended them in post to correct those hot spots on the floor of the cave. But I later felt that those hot spots better represented the intensity of the light as it hits the ground.
The light on the floor seems a tad hot, but perhaps the rays were that strong in your viewing. An intriguing shot. Good timing.