Japan Secret Spot: A Hidden Cave In The Mountains Of Fukuoka

My wife's cousin discovered this cool cave he took us to deep in the mountains of Fukuoka. 

I'm not usually cave photography guy because they are always so built up to be safe for tourist. There were even a few caves in Okanawa I knew about that I really wanted to see, but they were all lit up by Christmas style lights to the point of cheese that I had to pass.

The Fukuoka Cave

To me this was cooler than Antelope Canyon, and maybe even cooler than the Narrows in Zion. I really want to spend more time here. 

My wife and I and a few friends hiked about half way in to where the lights stop. It was beyond dark, and very creepy, and you have to wade through very cold water. 

This will definitely be a spot I return to. It was late in the day when we got so I only grabbed  a few shots.

My New Software Upgrades

I've been working on a new workflow lately for my prints. It involves a lot more Photoshop than I have typically been using.

It goes something like this:

Color in Lightroom to get it close to what I want, then import to Photoshop.

In Photoshop I do things that are beyond Lightroom's power, for example a little noise reduction and more advanced color correction. I can also use luminosity masks and other techniques to just control the highlights, midtones and shadows.

Then if it still needs some more color tweaks or effects, I'll send it to Nik's Color Efex Pro or Viveza 2.

Viveza 2 is a new addition to my workflow and so far I really like it. I noticed the new version of Color Efex Pro works a lot better as well. I'll be sure to update my review seen here when I get a few more samples.

The Photo The Secret Cave

Single shot, with the Sony A7r.

ISO 100, F9 at 6"

Canon 16-35mm II