Crystal Palace Cathedral

Buried deep underground and hidden from view is this secret cave in the heart of busy Sydney's northern beaches. The trek to descend the cliffside is precarious, and scaling back up the rocky path to the entrance is an experience in itself. However, once you enter this place of awe-inspiring solitude, you forget all the challenges it took to get here. The original colonial owner was Reverend John Therry, who delivered sermons within the cave to local Protestants. This practice was becoming outlawed by the Catholic Church, making the cave the perfect place to practice their faith and worship without disturbance. The seaside cave measures around 110 meters in length, 15 meters in height, and 10 meters in width, making it ideal for capturing incredible photographs. This particular image was the result of patiently waiting for the sun to rise and for the rays to illuminate the farthest reaches of the ceiling at the perfect angle. To capture the entire scene in the frame, I needed to shoot a vertical panoramic and manually stitch the images together. My friend and partner in crime, Alex, was kind enough to hold a torch and remain still for 15 minutes while I captured the caves' intricate details with the correct long exposures. I wanted to create an image for this piece that reflected on the place's history and showed it’s future. Telling the story of ancient places captured and explored with new technology. I believe one day these first mints on the block chain will be like artefacts of digital art that explorers can unearth long into the coming centuries.