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Arachnid Lair, the newest limited edition
Arachnid Lair Photo Copyright © 2007 G. Kiser
As I mentioned in my last entry about camping at Pilot Mountain, there was a cave that I had seen and wanted to photograph on a trail near the camp site. The first time that I saw it, I thought a cloudy day with very diffused light would be the way to photograph it. I read the scene entirely wrong. When I went back the next day with just the conditions I was hoping for, I found that the colors in the rock were washed out, and there was no texture. Since it was the color and the texture that drew my interest, this lighting just wouldn't work.
I studied the cave for a while, looking at where the light could come from, and what I wanted to highlight. There was a huge spider web toward the back wall that I found nearly irresistible. As I mentioned before, the texture in the wall was amazing, and where hornets and such had built nests, there were splashes of color all over the wall. The question was...How to capture all this with a camera? I needed side light on the walls to show the texture, and it had to be warm. I needed to get light where it was impossible to reach to showcase the spider web. The sun couldn't do this for me, my accessory flash couldn't do it for me. I needed complete control over the placement of the light, and where the shadows were. The only answer was to paint the scene with light.
I never go camping without an assortment of flashlights. It just so happened that one of these flashlights was about to be pulled from trail illumination duty and put into service as a creative tool. With my Maglite, I would be able to put the light precisely where I wanted it to be. All I needed was the proper lighting conditions outside the cave. Since the front and a partial side were opened up, I didn't have to provide all the illumination of the scene. I wanted the ambient light to provide some, so I started working about 15 minutes before sunset.
I carefully chose my camera position so that the spider web was located at a strong point in the composition while still showing off the walls. I began doing some tests with short (15 second exposures) to see how the flashlight would perform. Everything was going wonderfully, but the walls in the foreground were still picking up too much of the ambient light and were showing a ghastly gray that just didn't work with the composition and my vision. As the sun snuck below the horizon, the ambient light fell. I was relying more and more on my flashlight for the illumination of the scene. What I found was the more that happened, the better the colors appeared. I was now well into the 30 second exposure range which gave me plenty of time to paint the scene.
I tried many different ways of lighting the scene, most of which were less than satisfactory. However, each of those failures had positive aspects that I wanted to incorporate in the final exposure. The photograph you see here is the product of about 20 failures. In the 30 seconds that the shutter was open, I illuminated the scene from three different positions, each working a specific part, at a particular angle. The resulting image showed each element that I wanted to bring to the table. The walls have great texture, as well as a warm rich hue. The spider's web shows up very well, right where I wanted it to be. The shadows drift off into the unknown behind the web, and the leaves form a complimentary element to the hard rock wall.
The effort or danger that goes into a picture is rarely related to its merits...I have found this concept to be true time and time again. However, I feel that this is one of those cases where a good deal of tenacity and thought has come up with a truly remarkable picture. That is why I have added Arachnid Lair to the ranks of my Limited Edition prints. This run will be limited to a total of 10 prints at 8"x10". You can view more details on this picture in the Gallery Store. The picture itself can be viewed in the Night and Creative Room.
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excellent shot my friend.............even though arachnids are not my faves.
blessings,
regina -
Your description of the way the photo was derived makes for a comprehensive appreciation of the study. Serendipity was involved in your creative format as you could never have envisioned the end result beforehand. The photo gives a look at the unweathered formation of the rock. Looking at time through this window is amazing and enchanting with the spider lair involved. You have a pristine image of the hundreds of thousands of years perhaps present here. I can see why you are enthusiatic enough to make it a limited edition and place it in your most desirable image gallery section. A great photo! mark
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Wish I had taken this image I have a competition coming up with the theme of wood.
Pete
http://journals.aol.co.uk/pbaldrey/PetesPlace -
My eye was drawn to the dark cave opening at the back. If it wasn't for the spider web, I'd want to get closer and look in. What are the dimensions of that opening? Well done, all the work you did paid off. I wouldn't have thought of the maglite trick. You are the adventurous one, Greg!! bea
http://journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/
11/2/07 9:06 PM