May 2006

360 Degrees Of Lechuguilla Cave

Photo Shoot at Oasis

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This was a one day trip to the Far Western Branch of Lechuguilla Cave to shoot still photos that could be digitally stitched together to create a 360 degree virtual tour of the Oasis room. As can be seen, Oasis is one of the most beautiful rooms in Lechuguilla Cave. It is also one of the most delicate areas of the cave and is currently off limits except for National Park Service approved trips. To reduce our impact on this awesome room, we all switched into clean clothes and aqua sox. We also moved one at a time through some of the most delicate zones so that the others could "spot" the person moving and make sure he did not come close to any of the fragile formations. We also did a 360 Degree photo shoot in the Western Borehole on this trip. Total time spent in the cave was approximately 17 hours.

Team Members: Stan Allison, Patrick Cicero, and Aaron Stockton

All Photos Taken by Aaron Stockton

	Very pristine draperies located at the entrance to Oasis
	Close up of the drapery folds
	Stan taking getting the camera setup on a huge pedestal that was conveniently located in the center of the room
	Patrick checking out some very delicate pool spar rafts with stalagmites
	Looking at the pools in amazement
	Stan fine tuning his camera setup prior to starting the photo shoot. A total of 38 still photos were required to create a 360 Degree virtual room photo. Each photo was taken with the camera shutter open for several seconds while Stan, Aaron, and I "painted" the area with million candlepower handheld flashlights.
	Stan starting the photo shoot...lights out everyone
	Pat walking among the huge pool spar towers in Oasis
	Pat visiting the Oasis equivalent of Roman Baths (Super delicate area)
	A different view of the same area
	Checking out the back section of Oasis
	This is a close up of a bottle brush formation. These form when stalactites grow down into the pool and the water level rises enough to submerge the end of the stalactite. All of the orange crystals in Oasis grew underwater.
	Taking a break and looking at the different water lines
	Stan climbing up into a fantastic but delicate zone
	These are two bottle brush formations that broke off and became cemented into the yellow flowstone slope. The colors in this room were incredible!
	Some very large bottle brush formations
	It's amazing that the stalactites can support the weight of all that pool spar