Chuck Sutherland

The Caverns, or as cavers know it, Big Mouth Cave, is a music venue in Grundy County, Tennessee. I made my second trip there this last weekend to photograph the beginning of the survey of the cave by Sewannee Mountain Grotto members, Kyle Lassiter, Kristine Ebrey, Sue Milburn, and Martha G. Bryant. I attempted to recreate my photos from the first trip in 2015, and I include those for comparison. 2015/11/21 2020/06/14

What follows is a list of equipment that I use (and is pictured above) to photograph caves. Caving equipment is not itemized. Each component of this is very important and serves a purpose. Pelican cases are necessary to protect your equipment from mud, water, and impacts. Taking a camera caving without having some form of protection like a Pelican Case is a sure way to find yourself replacing your camera and lens sooner rather than later. It's a small investment with a big return. The flashes and transmitter are important because there is no light save for what you bring in a cave. Having multiple off camera flashes allows the photographer to compose the scene as they like. Other lighting options also work, but none work as well for capturing people or dynamic movement. Flashbulbs also will work to do this, and depending on what bulbs one uses can have amazing output. The problem is that they are one use items. The advantage is that you can shoot at f/11 underground. The ...

I've been doing more hiking lately, and as I'm getting back into it I'm finding that I am needing to rethink me solutions. Caving gear camera gear is heavy, and it has to be to protect one's equipment. But in a scenario where you're hiking, you have the luxury of losing some weight. This is what I've been carrying lately for when I'm hiking: Let's explore each of these items. First, there's the Canon EOS M6 Body. This is my camera. The next two items Canon EF-s 10-18MM and Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 are both lenses. The 10-18mm lens is my workhorse. It can shoot macros, and it is perfect for expansive landscape photography. It's nearly fisheye, but you'll find that it doesn't have the gimmicky feel that a fisheye lens does. The polarizer is for this lens. The polarizer lets me reduce glares and reflections, which makes taking photos of water, or anything wet so much better. It will darken the sky as well, creating deeper blue colors with...