#00182, God's Portal

It was very dark inside this cave but there was a hole in the roof through which both light and water streamed.

This is a very popular spot in the Gold Coast hinterland which must have been photographed by every landscape photographer in Australia. But I've never seen a vertical shot, everyone seems to take a horizontal, as indeed did I at first. But then I studied the scene, moved the camera a couple of feet, turned the film back 90 degrees, and reshot.

The result has been probably my all-time most popular shot although I'm sure the title has helped.

I called it God's Portal because I envisioned that the shaft of light would be just the sort of doorway that a deity would use. I also briefly considered calling it something like Beam Me Up Scotty but thought that would trivialise a good image.

As I've said elsewhere, sometimes I wish I'd never started captioning my images because it's not always clear cut what to call them. But sometimes it is, and I think you can add to the viewer's experience a little by "explaining" your thoughts with a caption.

I usually don't like looking for photos with company but sometimes it works for the best. On this occasion I was with my wife and to get the shot I had to climb over a fence. I was hesitant to do so however and had all but decided not to when Chris convinced me to go.

I'm glad she did.


Natural Arch National Park, QLD

Technical: Tachihara 5x4 field camera, 210mm Symmar-S, 3m, f45
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