texascavers Digest 15 Sep 2008 18:47:55 -0000 Issue 606
Topics (messages 8916 through 8929):
Peter Jones Photography Workshop
8916 by: Carl Kunath
8921 by: Minton, Mark
Re: TCR Speleolympics and Declaration of Challenge
8917 by: Johnson, Russ (ATX)
8920 by: John Brooks
Texas Cavers Reunion
8918 by: Allan Cobb
TSA Nominations
8919 by: Linda Palit
Hello South Texas Grottos
8922 by: Louise Power
8924 by: Fritz Holt
8928 by: Joy Kennedy-O'Neill
Re: Texas Grottos and Hurricane Ike
8923 by: Jim Kennedy
8925 by: Amanda Scott
8926 by: Don Arburn
8927 by: Nico Escamilla
8929 by: Joe Ranzau
Administrivia:
To subscribe to the digest, e-mail:
<texascavers-digest-subscr...@texascavers.com>
To unsubscribe from the digest, e-mail:
<texascavers-digest-unsubscr...@texascavers.com>
To post to the list, e-mail:
<texascavers@texascavers.com>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Begin Message ---
Peter Jones has requested hekp in promoting this event throughout the
southwest. Fell free to pass it along to any who may be interested.
===Carl Kunath
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Morning, Gents: Peter Jones here. Hope you are all well and caving your asses
off these days. I am 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 the 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
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
>Peter Jones has requested hekp in promoting this event throughout the
>southwest. Fell free to pass it along to any who may be interested.
Below is more info on Peter Jones photography workshop at Carlsbad.
Mark Minton
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
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Suggest someone render a porcine animal and use the fat to slicken the
slide. What could be more natural than lard?
Russ
Llano, Texas
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL: This e-mail and attachments may contain information which
is company confidential and proprietary. Disclosure or use of any such
information without the written permission of Weston Solutions, Inc. is
strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please notify the
sender by return e-mail and delete this e-mail from your system. Thank You.
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Porupine poo (or bat guano) would be a more "cave like" lubricant....
Sent from my iPhone
On Sep 15, 2008, at 7:57 AM, "Johnson, Russ (ATX)"
<russ.k.john...@westonsolutions.com> wrote:
Suggest someone render a porcine animal and use the fat to slicken the
slide. What could be more natural than lard?
Russ
Llano, Texas
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL: This e-mail and attachments may contain information which
is company confidential and proprietary. Disclosure or use of any such
information without the written permission of Weston Solutions, Inc. is
strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please notify the
sender by return e-mail and delete this e-mail from your system. Thank You.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit our website: http://texascavers.com
To unsubscribe, e-mail: texascavers-unsubscr...@texascavers.com
For additional commands, e-mail: texascavers-h...@texascavers.com
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Howdy y'all,
I hope everyone weathered Hurricane Ike.
The 31st Texas Cavers Reunion is right around the corner! The weekend of
October 10-12, we will be gathering at Paradise Canyon
(http://paradisecanyon.com/) on the Medina River for all the usual fun and
games. We hope that all cavers are planning to attend this year. I have
ordered great weather and the water is fine.
For more information and directions, you can visit www.oztotl.com/tcr.
See y'all there,
Allan
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Do you enjoy being a part of the Texas Caver's Spring Convention, Colorado
Bend Project and other Texas Speleological Association functions?
We need officers for next year. Nominate yourself or nominate somebody
else. We have possible nominations for some offices - people are thinking.
But we do not have all offices filled, and certainly do not yet have a
"choice" on the ballot. Send in your nominations!
Within the next ten days I will send out the list of those who have accepted
thus far.
Thanks,
Linda
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
>From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a serious
>hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Home in Houston OK except for tree debris and no electricity. Galveston beach
house damaged but won't know the extent for several weeks when we are allowed
back in but we are safe.
Fritz and Jerry Elizabeth Holt
________________________________
From: Louise Power [mailto:power_lou...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
To: Texas Cavers
Subject: [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
>From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a serious
>hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
We evacuated from our mandatory evac. zone in Freeport and went up to
Houston, riding it out near downtown. Got 120 mph gusts with 80 mph
sustained winds there. Crazy scary. Our friends in Houston still have no
power, and will probably not have it for weeks. Our place in Freeport is
okay, although there is a four inch roofing nail driven into our balcony,
which came from the adjacent apartment complex waaay across a pond!
--Joy Kennedy
On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 12:49 PM, Fritz Holt <fh...@townandcountryins.com>wrote:
> Home in Houston OK except for tree debris and no electricity. Galveston
> beach house damaged but won't know the extent for several weeks when we are
> allowed back in but we are safe.
>
> Fritz and Jerry Elizabeth Holt
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Louise Power [mailto:power_lou...@hotmail.com]
> *Sent:* Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
> *To:* Texas Cavers
> *Subject:* [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
>
>
>
> From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a
> serious hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Austin barely got any rain, but Houston and Galveston were hammered. I
don't know about San Antonio, but I suspect they came away clean also.
-- Crash
From: Louise Power [mailto:power_lou...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
To: Texas Cavers
Subject: [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
>From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a
serious hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Bryan/College Station received high winds and rain... strongest winds I
have ever experienced. But we do have power. Many communities around us do
not.
Travis and I are housing a couple of caving refugees from Houston. I'll let
them share their own experience. Anyway, we are OK here.
Travis, Amanda, and Harper Scott
On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Jim Kennedy <jkenn...@batcon.org> wrote:
> Austin barely got any rain, but Houston and Galveston were hammered. I
> don't know about San Antonio, but I suspect they came away clean also.
>
>
>
> -- Crash
>
>
>
> *From:* Louise Power [mailto:power_lou...@hotmail.com]
> *Sent:* Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
> *To:* Texas Cavers
> *Subject:* [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
>
>
>
> From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a
> serious hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
There was a hurricane?
Don Arburn
San Antonio
On Sep 15, 2008, at 1:10 PM, Amanda Scott <mamaarsc...@gmail.com> wrote:
Bryan/College Station received high winds and rain... strongest
winds I have ever experienced. But we do have power. Many
communities around us do not.
Travis and I are housing a couple of caving refugees from Houston.
I'll let them share their own experience. Anyway, we are OK here.
Travis, Amanda, and Harper Scott
On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Jim Kennedy <jkenn...@batcon.org>
wrote:
Austin barely got any rain, but Houston and Galveston were
hammered. I don't know about San Antonio, but I suspect they came
away clean also.
-- Crash
From: Louise Power [mailto:power_lou...@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
To: Texas Cavers
Subject: [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken
a serious hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
We only got the usual September rain, maybe a couple more inches than normal
here
we're pretty much hurricane proof ('cept for Gilbert in the 80s) with all
the mountains around us.
Nico
On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 1:12 PM, Don Arburn <donarb...@mac.com> wrote:
> There was a hurricane?
>
> Don Arburn
> San Antonio
>
> On Sep 15, 2008, at 1:10 PM, Amanda Scott <mamaarsc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Bryan/College Station received high winds and rain... strongest winds I
> have ever experienced. But we do have power. Many communities around us do
> not.
>
> Travis and I are housing a couple of caving refugees from Houston. I'll
> let them share their own experience. Anyway, we are OK here.
>
> Travis, Amanda, and Harper Scott
>
> On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Jim Kennedy < <jkenn...@batcon.org>
> jkenn...@batcon.org> wrote:
>
>> Austin barely got any rain, but Houston and Galveston were hammered. I
>> don't know about San Antonio, but I suspect they came away clean also.
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Crash
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Louise Power [mailto: <power_lou...@hotmail.com>
>> power_lou...@hotmail.com]
>> *Sent:* Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
>> *To:* Texas Cavers
>> *Subject:* [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
>>
>>
>>
>> From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a
>> serious hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
>>
>
>
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
Nary a drop of moisture to be found in Boerne.
On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 1:12 PM, Don Arburn <donarb...@mac.com> wrote:
> There was a hurricane?
>
> Don Arburn
> San Antonio
>
> On Sep 15, 2008, at 1:10 PM, Amanda Scott <mamaarsc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Bryan/College Station received high winds and rain... strongest winds I
> have ever experienced. But we do have power. Many communities around us do
> not.
>
> Travis and I are housing a couple of caving refugees from Houston. I'll
> let them share their own experience. Anyway, we are OK here.
>
> Travis, Amanda, and Harper Scott
>
> On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Jim Kennedy < <jkenn...@batcon.org>
> jkenn...@batcon.org> wrote:
>
>> Austin barely got any rain, but Houston and Galveston were hammered. I
>> don't know about San Antonio, but I suspect they came away clean also.
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Crash
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Louise Power [mailto: <power_lou...@hotmail.com>
>> power_lou...@hotmail.com]
>> *Sent:* Monday, September 15, 2008 12:11 PM
>> *To:* Texas Cavers
>> *Subject:* [Texascavers] Hello South Texas Grottos
>>
>>
>>
>> From where I sit in the Northwest, it looks like you guys have taken a
>> serious hit from Ike. Is everybody okay?
>>
>
>
--- End Message ---
