Hi Peter,
... happy to do it. I posted your message on the New Mexico cavers list,
Sandia Grotto list the Central AZ Grotto list.
Ray
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter Jones
To: John Lyles ; Ray Keeler ; Carl Kunath
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2008 6:44 AM
Subject: Help with posting info on a cave photography workshop
Morning, Gents: ?Peter Jones here. ?Hope you are all well and caving your
asses off these days. ?I writing to ask each of you if you could help me out
with a cave photography workshop I'm teaching at Carlsbad Caverns National Park
on October 22, 23, 2008, about a month away from now. ?What I am requesting is
if you could past some information for me on any of your local caving internet
services/blogs within the states you live in. ?This is the second cave photo
workshop I'm running, the last one being in 2006 on my way out to Convention in
Bellingham. ?This one is taking place in conjunction with the Dedication
Ceremony on Oct 25 for the newly rebuilt Visitors Center at the Park. ?I've
asked the Park and the Carlsbad Cavern Guadalupe Mountains Association to be in
charge of the registration and advertising. ?I regret to say that they haven't
really done a whole lot with it. ?They've been moving back into the facilities
after a year or more in trailers, but they are also understaffed and overworked
these days. ?As such, it pretty much falls back on me to get the word out.
?I've sent info to a couple of photography ?schools (Santa Fe Workshops and The
Center for Creative Photography at U AZ in Tucson) in the area, but I doubt
that they've done anything with the posters other than use them in the bottom
of birdcages. ?I was treated somewhat similarly here at the Maine Media
Workshops in nearby Rockport, even though I took two classes there over the
years. ?Such is life when you're dealing with huge egos.?
This class is really meant to be directed at people who visit the cave as
tourists and have dismal results with their point and shoot cameras. ?However,
a few cavers are already signed up for it. I certainly have no problem at
all?in teaching cavers how to take better photographs underground and in fact
really welcome the idea. ?The rub is that there is a fee of $200 for the two
day workshop since it is a fundraiser, of sorts, for CCGMA and thus Carlsbad
Caverns NP. ?It's a super cheap class so I hope it will be in the realm of even
cheap cavers to take the class. ?I know for sure that there are plenty of
cavers out there with cameras who don't have a good idea on how to use them
underground, so this would be a good class for them. ?Besides, we get to go
into Lower Cave and do some flash photography for the day. ?There's certainly
some nice stuff down there, all right along the trail in a safe location and
non-invasive environment.
Attached below is the poster the Park is using in the bookstore to promote
the workshop. ?I've also attached a more descriptive write up about the
workshop. ?You are certainly welcome to either print and post it at local
camera clubs or simply repost on local caving blogs. ?If it's not in your
domain to do so, perhaps you could tell me who to contact for putting the
listing up on the blogs.
I'm quite pleased to be heading back to the Guads for a couple of weeks
around that time. ?I'm starting the trip with a four day/two night trip into
Virgin and The Cavernacle, the most beautiful cave room I've ever seen. ?It
will be a true Photo Extravaganza. ?That's followed by the workshop, then a
presentation at the Park's Projection Theater room entitled "A lifetime of
caving in the Guadalupe Mountains". ?That same afternoon and the following day,
I'll be he photographer for the Dedication Ceremony itself thanks to the Park's
generous offer to pay me for my services (yeeaaaa!!). ?On top of that is The
Cavern Arts Project in which several of my prints will be hanging alongside
those of Ansel Adams. ?A good name association. ?Doesn't get much better than
that. ?Will any of you be coming to the DC on the 25th? ?If so, hope to see you
there. ?Should be a big event.
Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to offer here. ?Although I
like small classes for their intimacy, I would prefer to have something closer
to a full class than an empty one. ?Only four students so far. ?It will just be
what it will be.
Cave on, gents!
Peter Jones
Shot in the Dark Cave Photography
80 Mountain St
Camden, ME 04843
207-236-6112
pjca...@gwi.net
www.pjcaver.com
WELCOME TO
THE CAVE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
AT
CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATIONAL PARK
OCTOBER 22, 23 2008
This is the second Cave Photography Workshop (CPW) at Carlsbad Caverns
National Park. The class is scheduled to fit into the week-long lead-up to the
Dedication Ceremony of the newly rebuilt Visitors Center at the Park, scheduled
for Saturday, October 25.? This class will be a two day novice to intermediate
level class in digital photography techniques in Carlsbad Cavern.? The class
will run from 8 AM to approximately 5 PM both days.? It is designed
specifically to help you learn how to use your digital camera from the
(under)ground up.? Participants should feel at ease about taking the class as
there are no foolish questions you can ask (perhaps a few foolish answers will
be given, though).? You will be here to learn and your instructor will be here
to help you do just that.
Each student is expected to have their own digital camera and they should be
reasonably familiar with how to use it on a basic level.? You? should know how
to turn it on, where the batteries and memory cards are located, how to focus
and take a simple photo with it.? You will also need a sturdy tripod to set
your camera on for long exposures in the cave.? You should bring several sets
of replacement batteries and a charger if you use rechargeable batteries.? They
should all be fully charged each day.? It is also wise to bring along some
extra memory cards on which to store your images.? A five hundred megabyte or
one gigabyte memory card will be good for a day?s worth of photography.? Having
extras is better than just one single large card as they can be corrupted,
leaving you with no backups. You should also bring along the instruction manual
and/or CD that came with it for your camera.? Because there are many different
cameras on the market, you should have the tools (instruction manual) with you
to learn how to use it properly.? If you do not still have the instructions,
please contact the instructor at the e-mail address listed below.? If you have
a laptop computer, you should bring that with you as well for storage and
manipulation of the images.
The fee for the class is $200/person for both days and is limited to twelve
people.? The fee is for the class only and does not include meals or lodging.?
Information about lodging is available from the Carlsbad Cavern Guadalupe
Mountain Association who will register you for the class.? In extenuating
circumstances, single day participation is allowed at a fee of $125/person/day,
although this is discouraged. ?
The class will begin promptly at 8 AM each day at the newly rebuilt Carlsbad
Caverns Visitors Center (VC).? The class will meet each morning in the
Projection Theater in the VC where a visual presentation will be made to help
you learn how to use your camera.? We will cover how to locate your Menus in
the camera;? Manual vs Automatic exposure; Setting the Image Size; Adjusting
the Image Quality (compression); Setting the White Balance; ISO setting;
Shutter Speed and Aperture settings; Exposure Compensation; Using the on-camera
Flash and its limitations; Using Wide vs Telephoto focal lengths.? It is best
if you can familiarize yourself with this information by reading the
instruction manual before the class as it will save considerable time.? Don?t
worry if you don?t understand it on first reading as it will all be explained
as part of the workshop.
After the morning lecture, we will enter the cave through the Natural
Entrance and descend the trail to several predetermined locations for taking
photos.? These will be areas that offer good photo opportunities and are
convenient for a large class to work in without crowding the trail.? When we
reach the Underground Lunchroom, we will take a one hour break for lunch and
reconvene in the same location at a specified time.? >>From there, we will
enter The Big Room and stop at predetermined locations? for further photo
opportunities for the remainder of the day.? The class will end at
approximately 5 PM.
On the second day, we will meet once again at the VC for another lecture on
processing your cave images on your computer.? We will cover the most basic
techniques of cropping and leveling your images; adjusting levels, brightness
and contrast;? color correction;? outputting your images for web photos or
printing.? We will then cover some basic aspects of flash photography:? getting
your flash off the camera plane;? single vs multiple flash;? balancing ambient
and flash light sources.? After the lecture, we will proceed directly to The
Big Room once again to finish photographing what we might have missed on the
first day.? After an hour break for lunch, we will head into Lower Cave for
some flash photography opportunities.? This will require wearing hardhats and
lights which will be provided by the Park.? You will need to bring along a set
of 4 double A (AA) batteries to power the headlamps as the Park no longer
supplies the batteries.? We will descend a couple of short ladders and proceed
along the well-marked passages to the first photo opportunity at the Colonel
Boles Formation.? All the lighting setup will be provided by the instructor for
these shots as it is an instructional class.? You may bring your own lighting
equipment if you wish, but your opportunities to use them will be limited.?
From there, we will backtrack through the passages and take several more shots
along the way.? Class will end at approximately 5 PM once again.
For those who wish to learn more about processing your digital cave images in
the computer, there will be a brief two hour meeting the next morning where the
instructor will teach more advanced techniques of layering and adjustments to
your images.? This portion is free and optional for those who took the class.?
Time and location will be determined and announced during the class.
Your instructor for the class is Peter Jones of Shot in the Dark Cave
Photography.? Peter has been a caver and photographer in the Guadalupe
Mountains, home of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, for nearly 40 years.? His
work has been on display at the Park for many years.? In 2003, Peter spent
three weeks photographing all of Carlsbad and several other caves within the
vicinity for the Park?s Public Domain Photo Gallery.? He was also the
instructor of the first CPW in 2006.? He has worked for National Geographic
Television, helped coordinate and shoot a NOVA filming project and was the
subject of a public TV special on caving in the Guadalupe Mountains for
Anyplace Wild Television.? He has authored numerous books and articles on cave
photography techniques, been published in many magazines and newspaper articles
with his cave photographs and is a cave photography instructor.? His work has
been displayed in numerous museums including the Smithsonian Museum of Natural
History in Washington, DC.? His work is available through the Carlsbad Caverns
Guadalupe Mountains Association Bookstore at the Park.? He makes his living as
a potter in Camden, Maine under the name Mountain Street Pottery.
To register for the class, contact The Carlsbad Caverns Guadalupe Mountains
Association at (515) 785-2486 or by e-mail at hsingle...@ccgma.org.? For more
information or if you have further questions, please contact Peter at
pjca...@gwi.net.? You may also visit his website at www.pjcaver.com
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