Carlsbad, Caves, and a Camera (Speleologia)

In Carlsbad, Caves, and a Camera the author, a professional photographer, recalls his cave exploration while a young man in the 1930's. This is the story of amateurs who plunged, inexperienced, unadvised, and unguided, into the underground, who met their problems as they arose, and who bungled their way into competence. It is the thrill of penetrating the unknown, with the threat of danger ever present in the darkness beyond. It is the thought of boundless beauty, lost for aeons in darkness, until the feeble light of the explorer brings it into view. It is the surge of pride in knowing that no human beings had been there before. It is a story of people simply having fun. This book is a deeply felt tribute to a way of life and a part of nature that have almost disappeared from our experience.

The author, who learned cave photography as apprentice to Ray V. Davis, the first Carlsbad Caverns photographer, kept a visual and written record of these explorations. As a result, we have an intimate written account of what these young men saw, what they said, how they felt. In addition we have a photographic essay of 185 large-format pictures, many of breathtaking beauty.