Cathedral Caverns

After a long hiatus, I'm back to Wandering. I recently took a trip to Cathedral Caverns in the town of Woodville, AL. The Caverns hold 6 world records. It is home to "Goliath"--the largest stalagmite in the world at 45 feet tall and 243 feet in circumference. I never got a satisfactory picture of him...maybe next time.

In the Caverns I used the flash very rarely, prefering a the ambiance from the existing lights in the cave and using a slow shutter speed with the ISO cranked up. 

The entrance to the cavern

Looking from the inside, out. The widest natural entrance of any cave in the world at 25 feet tall and 128 feet wide.

A galaxy? Doorway to another world?

Nope, it's the ceiling of the cave when using a flash. The crystals in the rock (mica, quartz?) reflected back the brilliance of the light. Cathedral caverns was once under and ocean and that dark object in the center is a fossil shark's tooth.

Going deeper

As we travel farther back into the cave, I leave the shutter open for several seconds, creating ghostly images of the people walking around me.

Flash piggy-backing

 
I've discovered over the years of taking shots of performances, that I can get some really beautiful lighting effects by piggy-backing on other camera's flashes. Someone to the far right and a little in front of me, was getting ready to take a picture and I used to opportunity to time my shot (without a flash) and use their lighting from a different angle with a different hue.

One of the "gazing pools"

Cathedral Caverns uses manmade gazing pools in a few places to showcase the beauty of the caverns. Can you tell where the cave ends and the water begins? This was a very difficult shot to get at the right angle, with the right amount of light.

These two photographs are of the "frozen waterfall." While  frozen waterfalls exist in other caves, this is the largest in the world. When the natural river system faltered, the park put in a recirculating pump system to keep the waterfall healthy and beautiful.

The path brings you quite close to the falls. You can just see the railing in the edge of both of these pictures.

 Artificial life

A close up of the algae growing in the cave. This intrusive plant growth is made possible only by the heat and light made by the artificial lights in the cave. Currently it is kept in check by regular cleanings, but the park systems is expecting to update their lights to LED, saving electricity and elemenating the algae problem. I hope it will have the same lovely reddish hue that incandescent bulbs offer.

Part of the world's largest flow stone wall, this cave giant holds his club aloft. Don't anger him! Also, check out the gorilla face just below him to the right.

The whole flow stone wall section is 32' tall and 135' long.

My brother silhouetted against the caverns.

 We are now entering the largest stalagmite forest in the world.

Beautiful formations and patterns are made in the cave. It's just like seeing pictures in clouds.

The cleverly placed artificial lights throughout this part, make the cave a wonderland of shadow and rock. They also make photographing an easy task.

My favorite photograph of the trip.
I will be offering prints of it soon at Kingdom of Possibilities

 A closer look at the same area of the cave. It looks like a carving of a rainforest to me.

Grief

This formation is the most interesting to me. The tour guide didn't mention it, but it looks to me exactly like a head with a hand raised to cover half his face in an expression of deep sorrow. This isn't a face on Mars either, the formation looks just the same from other angles too.

Beautiful stalagtites



A good look at the vastness of the room



Copyright Rhiannon Bacon - please ask before using.

Snow Day 2011

The early snow of January 2011. The most snow I've seen in many years.

I enjoy the many different firs and pines and how differently they collect snow.

The central pinecone stands out brown amidst all the green and white.

My dog Zakuro, who loves snow.

I love the shadowy tunnel created by the snowy pines. Taken at 18mm, the pines fisheye slightly and bring back the feeling of smallness that I got actually being there.

Zakuro eating snow and sharing a moment with my brother

A solitary piece of bark with lichen that fell onto a perfect white blanket of snow.

(C) Rhiannon Bacon

Please ask before using

White Christmas

December 25th, 2010

In all my memories of North Alabama Christmases, there was not a one Christmas when it was snowing...until now.

Mistletoe, a quintessential symbol of Christmas good will. Topped with a downy layer of snow, the greenery stands out from the landscrape.

You can see the loads of snow falling down with a back drop of fir.

The Christmas lights powdered with snow.

The red berries of Christmas time with a sugar-frosted coating.

This is one of my favorites from the day because of the many different textures and the falling snow.

A cluster of maples.

A dusted lilac bush in the forground in focus while Zakuro revels in the snow in the background, making for great contrast.

(C) Rhiannon Bacon

Please ask before using.