Rumbling Falls Cave, Van Buren County, TN

Fujichrome Sensia 100, OM-2S, 21mm lens, B-setting at f/3.5, 6 Meggaflash PF330's, 1 Meggaflash PF300, tripod.

"This image was taken during our second photo expedition to the cave. I wanted to fully illuminate the Rumble Room. To do so, I knew from previous tries, would take a great deal of light. So, I used two flashguns each modified to fire three bulbs simultaneously. I chose six of the most powerful bulbs made, the Meggaflash PF330, plus one PF300 in the foreground. These bulbs gave a total output of nearly 1 million lumen seconds! This image was made possible with the collective assistance of many cavers. Tim Curtis, Mark Joop, and Lance Hopenwasser provided illumination. Chris Voudy (on rope), and Curtis Beasley also assisted. Sherpas Tony Voudy, Mark Ruocco, John Swartz, and Gary Collins helped get all the equipment down into the room!



Photographer Chris Anderson "Gun Runner" Mark Joop

The incredible immensity of this chamber cannot fully be appreciated except perhaps in an image such as this. The room is so large, and so full of dust and mist, that seldom can the walls or ceiling be easily seen by the eye. A 200 foot rope drop is required to reach the talus pile. This image only shows a section of the chamber, and much more of it lay below and behind the camera."

Order a 20x30 inch poster print of this image.

See more of the story of how the cave chamber was photographed at

National Geographic Adventure Online

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