Buchan Caves, Royal Cave #1, Victoria, Australia

(Click image to enlarge)

The formations in this photograph grow roughly 1 centimeter (0.393 inches) per century. The colors seen are the natural colors of the formations. They are dimly illuminated with "white" light from permanently installed fixtures. I used my cell phone camera's night photo mode, with no flash or other extra illumination, to capture this photograph. Instead of using the ".jpg" file the phone produces, I instead used the ".dng" (raw image sensor data) I set the phone to produce before taking photos. Yes, I said "cell phone".

In recent years I've been using my cell phone's camera quite a bit for photos to share with family and sometimes a few friends. They are fine for that purpose. I never posted one on this website until I ran into a photographic situation where nothing except my cell phone could capture the image I wanted. The image quality is inferior to that of my usual camera, but it's vastly superior to no photograph at all.

I have taken cave tours a few times in my life. Until now, the last one I took photos on was an early 1980s self guided tour at New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns. I did it because I could go at my own pace and linger anywhere I liked along the route. For me, typical cave tours that are led by a ranger are not compatible with photography. I can enjoy them as a normal participant, like anyone else would. Doing photography with an interchangeable lens camera from within a crowd of people, all crammed into confined spaces and having to move along at the pace of the tour, makes it a nightmare. In this circumstance, enjoyment and photography are mutually exclusive.

When I prebooked a tour for my wife and I at Victoria's Buchan Caves, I had no plans to carry my usual camera. When we arrived and discovered that we were the only two people on the ranger led tour I still didn't want the hassle of carrying a larger camera, but I was open to taking some photos with the phone I'd be carrying regardless. A few, including this one, turned out surprisingly well.

I have no plans to get rid of my usual camera and use my phone instead. In circumstances where the larger and heavier camera won't work, or I won't consider carrying it, or just don't have it with me when I see something worth photographing, I'm now more open to the possibility of using the phone.