Under-Seen: Lava Tubes of the Upper Snake River Valley
On first view the landscape between the St. Anthony Sand Dunes and the Island Park Caldera seems a monotonous, worthless, and boring wasteland. One needs to look – hard – to appreciate the place. It is worthy of appreciation though, being critical wintering habitat for elk, deer, and moose and for nesting sage grouse, rock wrens, and ferruginous hawks. It is alive with wildflowers in the spring. It is leased by ranchers for sheep and cattle. Prior presence of Native Americans is evident. The subtle form and color of Sage and Junipers offer a subtle beauty. The open and mostly treeless landscape provides unobstructed views of the stars and light. It’s a good place to be alone. And there are impressive volcanic features: under the surface are caves – lava tubes.
Walking across the flat and dry and hot and rocky sage-covered desert and encountering one of these tubes is a strange experience. Things you wouldn’t expect in this barren landscape are found at the caves, microclimates that are strikingly different from their desert surroundings, cliff swallows wheeling overhead, a draft of cool moist air escaping from the depths, ferns, mosses, raspberry bushes, stinging nettle, fine grasses, weasels, gopher snakes, unusual insects, horned lizards, and bats. Once inside the lava tubes you lose all sense of the stark landscape above you. The air is moist and cool; there are occasional pools of water and ice, and remarkable colors. Bats cling to the ceiling and without warning fly at your face (the one cave experience that continually unnerves me). Desert wood rat nests (elaborate structures containing bones, sticks, trash, and other objects) are abundant. Typical cave formations here include cave coral, soda straws, stalagmites, stalactites (mostly from dripping and hardened lava), and other astonishing shapes left from cooled lava. And there are disappointments including graffiti, lit fireworks, broken formations, gun shots, and other vandalism.
Caves are dark, obviously, and photographing them using available light is problematic. Exposures are long, contrast is high, focusing is difficult, moisture can condense on the lens, and the light can change during an exposure. The resulting photographs though often reveal things not seen during the experience. Photography works differently from human vision. The pupils of our eyes open as far as they are able and after some time we are able to see some things in semi-darkness. Film gathers and collects light and eventually reveals things in a semi-dark scene that one could never see. I was often astonished by the obscured detail, color, texture, or form recorded in some of the photographs that I hadn’t experienced. I used to think photography allowed me a way to bring an experience home; however, viewing these photographs offers a separate experience.
I usually photograph landscapes near where I live, partially for the convenience. I can make photographs after work, during the weekends, and even during lunch. Another, more significant reason is to foster an appreciation in others and in myself for places that are overlooked, under-appreciated and under-seen. The sage-covered lava flows and lava tubes of the upper Snake River Valley, though difficult to appreciate, are worthy of our attention, understanding, and stewardship. These photographs acknowledge the power, beauty, silence, and importance of this under-seen land.
Darren Clark 2006
On first view the landscape between the St. Anthony Sand Dunes and the Island Park Caldera seems a monotonous, worthless, and boring wasteland. One needs to look – hard – to appreciate the place. It is worthy of appreciation though, being critical wintering habitat for elk, deer, and moose and for nesting sage grouse, rock wrens, and ferruginous hawks. It is alive with wildflowers in the spring. It is leased by ranchers for sheep and cattle. Prior presence of Native Americans is evident. The subtle form and color of Sage and Junipers offer a subtle beauty. The open and mostly treeless landscape provides unobstructed views of the stars and light. It’s a good place to be alone. And there are impressive volcanic features: under the surface are caves – lava tubes.
Walking across the flat and dry and hot and rocky sage-covered desert and encountering one of these tubes is a strange experience. Things you wouldn’t expect in this barren landscape are found at the caves, microclimates that are strikingly different from their desert surroundings, cliff swallows wheeling overhead, a draft of cool moist air escaping from the depths, ferns, mosses, raspberry bushes, stinging nettle, fine grasses, weasels, gopher snakes, unusual insects, horned lizards, and bats. Once inside the lava tubes you lose all sense of the stark landscape above you. The air is moist and cool; there are occasional pools of water and ice, and remarkable colors. Bats cling to the ceiling and without warning fly at your face (the one cave experience that continually unnerves me). Desert wood rat nests (elaborate structures containing bones, sticks, trash, and other objects) are abundant. Typical cave formations here include cave coral, soda straws, stalagmites, stalactites (mostly from dripping and hardened lava), and other astonishing shapes left from cooled lava. And there are disappointments including graffiti, lit fireworks, broken formations, gun shots, and other vandalism.
Caves are dark, obviously, and photographing them using available light is problematic. Exposures are long, contrast is high, focusing is difficult, moisture can condense on the lens, and the light can change during an exposure. The resulting photographs though often reveal things not seen during the experience. Photography works differently from human vision. The pupils of our eyes open as far as they are able and after some time we are able to see some things in semi-darkness. Film gathers and collects light and eventually reveals things in a semi-dark scene that one could never see. I was often astonished by the obscured detail, color, texture, or form recorded in some of the photographs that I hadn’t experienced. I used to think photography allowed me a way to bring an experience home; however, viewing these photographs offers a separate experience.
I usually photograph landscapes near where I live, partially for the convenience. I can make photographs after work, during the weekends, and even during lunch. Another, more significant reason is to foster an appreciation in others and in myself for places that are overlooked, under-appreciated and under-seen. The sage-covered lava flows and lava tubes of the upper Snake River Valley, though difficult to appreciate, are worthy of our attention, understanding, and stewardship. These photographs acknowledge the power, beauty, silence, and importance of this under-seen land.
Darren Clark 2006