Panorama photography in caves and karst
To produce panorama images in caves is particularly challenging. It demands thorough planning and control of lighting, but it is this complexity that is also enticing. The rewards are 90° to 360° perspectives that allow a surprisingly different and fascinating sensation of the three dimensions. The technique also suits above-ground landscape photography in karst areas, where it is much easier to do.
How does one capture such panorama shots?
First, I'll explain the technical background to the title panorama of speleo-photo. There are two versions of the title image which you'll see when directing the mouse over the image (depending on your computer and the JavaSkript settings in your browser). The second version also appears as frame in all of the speleo-photo pages.
In this particular case, the panorama shots were taken without another person assisting. I had about 10 kilograms of camera equipment with me, in a medium-sized caving bag. As the subject, I chose a cave chamber that offers a classical panorama perspective of about a 180° field of view. The result consists of not a single photo but of four overlapping shots, each captured in two lighting variants. The images were taken with a PENTAX DSLR camera and a wide-angle prime lens, mounted on a lightweight tripod equipped with a special panorama head, including a rotation plate and a nodal point adapter. This way, eight individual frames were captured:
The ceiling and foreground of the chamber were lit with four compact electronic flashguns (two at the perimeters of the scene and two facing from the bottom of the chamber towards the ceiling). These were triggered via a small infrared flash on the camera and slave units in the flashguns. The warm light in the centre of the chamber was provided by giant vintage flashbulbs (Sylvania PF60), which emit much more light than a conventional flashgun (guide number 180!) – enough power to illuminate the 50 x 30 metre large chamber at f6.3 and ISO 200. In order to trigger the camera while manually firing the flashbulbs in the centre of the chamber, I utilised a small radio-controlled camera trigger.
Back home on the computer, each individual RAW image was processed using Adobe Lightroom and stitched with the panorama software PTGui Pro, before cropping to final size. Lastly, the images were imported in the HTML editor Adobe Dreamweaver and eventually made their way onto this website.
But now, to the various panorama photo galleries ...
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Plateaus of the Grands Causses (France)
The rugged karstic plateaus of the Grands Causses in the South of France are structured by the canyons formed by the rivers Tarn and Jonte and are a marvellous landscape above and below ground.
to the panorama gallery Grands Causses / here in XL
(XL for resolutions wider than 1500 px and fast internet)
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Ardèche Gorge (France)
The Gorge d'Ardèche and its surrounding plateau is one of the classical karst areas in the South of France. This region has some of the most important caves in the country – including the incredible Grotte Chauvet with its phenomenal cave art.
to the panorama gallery Ardèche / here in XL |
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Vercors Plateau (France)
The karstic plateau Vercors in the French Alps is a highlight, not only in terms of its landscape, but also in respect of its diverse underground realm.
to the panorama gallery Vercors / here in XL |
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Verdon Canyon (France)
The Gorges du Verdon has a reputation for being the mother of all French canyons. The Verdon eroded its way up to 700 metres deep into the limestone, thereby sculpturing vertical climbing walls of outstanding quality.
to the panorama gallery Verdon / here in XL |
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Chartreuse Mountains (France)
The Chartreuse Mountains are a jewel among the French karstic areas. The alpine range supports more than 360 kilometres of surveyed cave passages. In the majestic Dent de Crolles, pioneers of cave exploration were once active, such as Martel, Chevalier, Petzl and others.
to the panorama gallery Chartreuse / here in XL |
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Classical Karst (Italy/Slovenia)
In the area of the city Trieste in Italy and across the border in Slovenia, we find the area of classical karst – named Carsus by the Romans – that gave this geological term its name. Here, speleological history was written..
to the panorama gallery Classical Karst / here in XL
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Island of Mallorca (Spain)
Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands, has more than 4,000 registered caves. But it is also the surface of Mallorca that features impressive and wild karst, a far cry from the dull mass tourism Mallorca is well known for.
to the panorama gallery Mallorca / here in XL |
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New Zealand archipelago
New Zealand yields diverse and exotic karstic landscapes of particular beauty. From subtropical rainforests to rugged alpine karst terrain, the archipelago possesses many wonders of the underground and has immense potential for further cave exploration.
to the panorama gallery New Zealand / here in XL |
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Plateau Reiteralm (Germany/Austria)
The karstic plateau Reiteralm in the Berchtesgaden Alps is an area of exploration for the Höhlenforschungsgruppe Ostalb-Kirchheim. This gallery shows images from the eight-kilometre long Eisrohrhöhle-Bammelschacht-System.
to the panorama gallery Reiteralm / here in XL |
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The Burren (Ireland)
A karstic area of a particular charm is the Burren in the West of Ireland. General Edmund Ludlow is remembered for that he said in 1651 that the Burren is 'a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him.'
to the panorama gallery Burren / here in XL |
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Guadalupe Mountains (New Mexico, USA)
The core of the "Guads" was formed during the Permian by tropical coral reefs. Today, these carbonate rocks contain some of the most unusual and beautiful caves in the world, such as the famous Lechuguilla Cave – a true jewel of the underground.
to the panorama gallery Guadalupe Mountains / here in XL |
Assistance during photo sessions for these galleries:
Hazel Barton, Katey Bender, Derek Bristol, Silvia Carrozzo, Beth Cortright, Ielena Fonda, Peter Gedei, Vid Gorjan, Leo Klimmer, Jörg Haußmann, Artur Hofmann, James Hunter, Sybille Kilchmann, Angela und Stephan Lang, Aria Mildice, Valeria Pasqualini, Gitti Plank, Dario Riavini, Thomas Schneider, Michael Schopper, Thomas Schulzki, Rainer Straub, Mijca Vrviscarja, James Wells, Stefanie Wisshak, Elisabeth Wolf
Million thanks! |
