Texas Landscape Safari – Longhorn Cavern

And one more great location to photograph if you join me on this fall's Texas Landscape Safari. Longhorn Cavern State Park near Burnet, Texas is one of the most interesting small caverns in this part of the country.

Longhorn Cavern - Burnet, Texas
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 21mm, f/10 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 on Sandisk digital film and post capture processed in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

The cave itself has been used as a shelter since prehistoric times. Among legends about the cavern is one that the outlaw Sam Bass hid a $2 million cache of stolen money inside. Confederates made gunpowder in the cave during the Civil War. Legend has it that the Texas Rangers rescued a kidnapped girl from Indians in the cave and during prohibition, the cave was used as a speakeasy, serving bootleg liquor to folks from all around central Texas.

Longhorn Cavern - Burnet, Texas
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 22mm, f/7.1 for 1/40th of a second at ISO 100 on Sandisk digital film and post capture processed in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

One thing's for sure, the temperature in the cavern is 68F all year round and a refreshing change from the hot Texas sun anytime of the day. Photography tours of the cave are offered by Longhorn Cave Tours, a private firm that manages the site for the state. They are private tours and run about 2 - 3 hours so we can photograph the cavern at our leisure.

Longhorn Cavern - Burnet, Texas
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 17mm, f/8 for 4/10ths of a second at ISO 100 on Sandisk digital film and post capture processed in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Longhorn Cavern is a great place to practice our high dynamic range (HDR) techniques as well as different filter techniques. Long exposures are the norm so a good tripod is a must. You can expect some incredible images to come from this location on the Texas Landscape Safari.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Canon, Canon 40D, Longhorn Cavern State Park, Photography, Texas Landscape Safari