Scroll down my blog and you will see that I visited Claustral Canyon not very long ago – on the 25th November.
I remember many years ago visiting Claustral Canyon three times in as many weekends. The purpose was to try and get some good photographs of the canyon. On the first two of those visits I did get some quite good photos, on the third visit I didn’t even take my camera out of the pack.
During the week, friend Dan from Canberra was keen to visit Claustral Canyon on Friday and was after people to join him. He was join by Rik, another Dan and myself.
Claustral Canyon is one of the best canyons to photograph. The abseils are quite spectacular and the canyon formation from the bottom of the abseils to the Thunder canyon junction is rather special. Low light and all the water – both in the swims and falling droplets present a challenge to the photographer.
Recently the greater Sydney area, which includes the Blue Mountains have been experiencing quite a few thunderstorms. This adds to the danger of being in a canyon, particularly a canyon like Claustral Canyon with its very sustained constriction. A thunderstorm caused hail storm can quickly flash flood a canyon. But, on the other hand, you often do get nice lighting in the canyon due to high humidity and lots of water being around. So as long as you are cautious and careful it can be good to visit canyons during a period of thunderstorms. Being in a small fast party is wise as well as familiarity with the canyon you are visiting. The rewards can be very great – you can often see the canyon at its very best.
Modern cameras with larger sensors can shoot quite well now in low light, but for the best results a tripod should be used in canyons where possible. The dynamic range of the lighting in a canyon is very great – and this poses problems with exposure. It is easy to ruin photos with blown out highlights. It is important to shoot in raw mode if your camera can do this – as it gives you a lot more scope for post processing the photos when you get home. I tend to underexpose my canyon photos – 2/3 of a stop or so, and try and take photos in places where there are no areas exposed to direct sunlight.
Our trip through the canyon was very good. We left the carpark at 11:15 am and arrived at the abseils about noon. The light was quite good – not at the top of the canyon – but lower down.
When we climbed out of Rainbow Ravine, we did experience a thunderstorm – we were on the cusp of it – and didn’t get too wet. And the new way out which involves dropping back down into the creek at the old entrance track is quite enchanting in the later afternoon.
A good day! More photos can be viewed on my website here.
amazing.