The photos I’m sharing today show a rather unusual sacred place. Not so much a chapel, as a cave that has been used since ancient times, and more recently (mid 20th century, from what I can tell) converted into a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. The cave is known locally as the Grotta ta’ San Martin or the Għar ta’ San Martin, not because of an association with St Martin, but because the area is known as Ta’ San Martin.
While the altar area is gated, the cave itself is open and easily accessible. I parked just outside, headed in with my camera and tripod, and set up to take a couple of photos. Other visitors came by as I set up, and kindly asked whether they could go in for a visit. I assured them I’d be some time setting up, and not to worry, as I could always wait. I hooked up my ultra-wide angle lens (a manual-focus Samyang 14mm), set up the tripod, and played around with different points of view to find compositions that would work.
In the end, I took two photos – the one at the start is, I think, my favourite. It shows only the interior of the cave, but gives a clearer picture of what’s there. The other point of view is shown below. This was taken just a couple meters further back, and also shows the stairway leading down to the cave. I opted for an asymmetric composition here, as otherwise the statue of Our Lady and St Bernadette would be hidden by the balustrade.
Technically, there were two things to think about. Using an ultra-wide angle lens obviously requires careful thought to composition and focusing, as this kind of lens lets you see everything from a few centimeters away to infinity (or whatever the farthest visible thing actually is). Clearly, anything close by looks much larger, so balancing the proportions of things becomes rather tricky. The other concern, in this case, involved the extreme dynamic range of the scene, from the relatively bright exterior (thankfully it was overcast at this point) to the darkness in the depth of the cave. I had a separate exposure meter with me, which is extremely helpful in such conditions. I took readings of various bits that I wanted to show up, throughout the range, and let it work out an average for me. I could see this would all fit within the dynamic range of the camera, so I exposed accordingly. In post, of course, I had to manage the range by lifting the shadows and controlling the highlights. But that’s what the software is for.
Muddy Boots 
Very interesting indeed. I agree that wide angle lenses are a tricky fit for these situations and it ends up being a bit of a challenge to get right.
Indeed they are, but they’re also a useful addition to a kit bag, as some shots just need them.