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AssetID: 31033731

Headline: The Lost World Cave

Caption: These stunning images show a descent into the Lost World. They were taken by photographer Ben Babusis, who captured atmospheric pictures of a cave system dubbed with that name. His photographs capture shafts of light entering the Waitomo Caves in New Zealand's North Island. A jaw-dropping, stand-out image shows an abseiling group suspended during their 100m-length descent into the misty cavern. Ben, 46, from Seattle, explains: "A friend and myself were photographing the north island of New Zealand and came across the Waitomo Caves, a huge limestone cave system in the northeast part of the island. The most impressive cave I was able to enter was called The Lost World, and featured a 100m long rappel (abseil) descent into an enormous misty cavern, which is the deepest in New Zealand. This is also arguably the most beautiful cave in New Zealand. "I received special permission and personal guide to take my camera gear down into the cave as camera bags and tripods are not normally allowed. We went down in the morning to the lip of the cave, and after donning helmets and harnesses began an exciting slow motion rappel into the cave as a team. We could hardly see the bottom when we left the platform. After a 20 minute descent, taking photos on the way, we finally landed on ground. I scouted the cave with the guide and set up for shooting light beams as they slowly moved across the floor of the cave. I was shooting with a Pentax 645Z medium format 50 megapixel system for maximum resolution and low light sensitivity. "There is a rock tower at the bottom of the cave and I saw that a prominent light beam was on course to intersect this rock. I quickly set up for some shots with both myself and Krysta on top of the rock to give the cave some perspective. This is important, as without people in the shot, the viewer really has no idea how large this cavern really is. Then, as noon hour approached, a set up for some shots I really wanted of the next group rappeling down. Shooting this was challenging because of incredible contrast in the cave with extremely dark and bright areas. I ended up exposing on the sky and bracketing all exposures to bring out shadow detail. The silhouette of the group rappelling down is one of my favourite shots from the trip." PICTURE SHOWS: Ben Babusis

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