NSS News Diciembre 2011 Olargues
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Transcript of NSS News Diciembre 2011 Olargues
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12 NSS NewS,December2011
WhenIfirstreceivedmyinvitationtotheconferenceinsouthernFrance,itsoundedtoogoodtobetrue:aweekofcavinginsomeofFrancessmostbeautifulcaves,in
thecompanyofmanyoftheworldsmostaccomplishedcavephotographers.WithouthesitationIknewIcouldntpassupsuchanopportunity.
Franceisacountryrichincavesandkarst,withover70,000knowncaves.Thatthereareover130showcaves,aboutasmanyasintheUSA,isatestimonytotheirbeauty.ModernspeleologystartedinFrance,andtodaytheFdrationFrancaisedeSplologie(FFS)boastsamembershipofabout7,500caversaboutthenumberofNSS Newscopiessentouteachmonth(thoughourmembershipisabout9000when
youincludefamilymembers.)Notsurpris-ingly,Francehasmanywell-knowncavephotographers,severalofwhomteameduptoputonthismeeting.ThekeyorganizerswerePhilippeCrochetandhiswifeAnnieGuiraud,MichelRendaandhiswifeMarieRenda,andDanielChailloux.
ThelocaleforthemeetingwasabeautifulvillagenamedOlargues,withtheclassicoldstonebuildingswhichtypifysmallFrenchvillages.Somestructuresinthevillage,suchasthePontduDiable,datetothe12thcentury.Thetownhasacoupleofrestaurantsandsomenicepatisseriesoffering
upsuchlocaltreatsasEscargot-rouquefortcheesepastries.Andyes,astastyastheysound.
ThevenueforourmeetingwastheCampotel,afacilitywithnumeroussmallroomswithbedsfor3to5people,andamainkitchen/diningroomarea.Amodestfeeof160Euroscoveredlodgingandmeals
The First International Meeting of Cave Photographers-Olargues, France, August 2011
Dave Bunnell (uncredited photos by author)
fortheweek,withallthewineandbeeronecoulddrink.Actually,Philippeprovidedthelatterathisownexpense,twomicrobrewsmadeinhishometownofMontpellier,about90minutesfromtheconferencesite.
Thereweresome65peopleinatten-dance,including39photographersandassistants.MostwerefromSpain,Germany,andItaly,withothersfromCanada,Hungary,Romaina,Slovenia,Switzerland,andevenapairfromJapan.TheUSwasrepresentedbymywifeElizabethandI,KevinDowneyandhiswifeHilda,andDanLegnini.Other
attendeesfamiliartoNSS NewsreadersareChrisHowesandJudithCalfordfromtheUK(whoalsoproduceacavingmagazine,Descent)andUrsandSueWidmerfromSwitzerland,whopublishtheSpeleoProjectscalendareachyear.
TheweekkickedoffwithaSundayeveningreceptionandbarbecuefromthetownmayor,followedby5daysofcaving.Therewere12cavesopentovisitationduringtheconference,onguidedtrips.Halfofthesewereavailableeveryday,wherasanothersixwereonlyopenonceduringtheconference.Forthelatter,youcouldonly
picktwotovisitduringtheweek.Manyofthesecaveswerenormallyquitedifficulttogetaccessto,soitwasarealtreattobeabletovisitthemduringtheconference.Twoofthemwerenotedforrareformationscoloredgreenorblue,andImadevisitingthesemytoppriority.AfterthecavetripseachdaywehadvarioustastydinnerssuchasseafoodPaella,Moules(muscles)inHerbesduProvence,grilledmeats,etc.Followingdinners,eachnight3or4photographerspresentedsomesortofslideshowormulti-mediashow.IpresentedonecalledNatural
BridgesauNaturel,notsomethingIcouldlikelyshowatanNSSConvention,butthiwasafterall,France.
Cave Trips
Mostofthecavetripswerewithina20to75minutedriveoftheconferencesitemanyonthelimestonemassifknownastheMontagneNoirorBlackMountain.UnlikeanNSSConvention,therewerenocompetingeventsandIwentcavingeveryday.Oneachtripthereweregenerally8peoplesplitintotwogroupsof4,whichmeantyou
wereoftensharinganareawithothercavephotographers.WhenpossibleItriedtoteamupwithothersusingradioslavesaswecouldworkwithoutsettingoffeachothersflashes.
AguidebookpreparedbyPhilippeandAnniefeaturedcolorimagesfromeachothecaves,andacouplethingsIveneverseeninanNSSConventionguidebookEachcavewasratedaccordingtofourlevelsofdifficulty(thoughbasedontheverticalworkrequiredonly,andnotconsideringtheamountofcrawling).Ofparticularinteres
The village of Olargues in southern France was the site of the meeting.
Photographer Philippe Crochet offers a toastChris Howes and Judith Calford, famedphotographic duo from the UK
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Sergio
Laburu-FUE-
espeleofoto.com
forphotographers,atableofPhotographicInterestlistedandratedona5-pointscale,thephotogenicqualitiesofeighttypesoffeatures:pits,water,chambers,formations,aragonite,color,andpearls.
HeresabriefsummaryofthecavesI
visited.
Aven des Crozes
ThisisoneofaboutadozencavesinFrancewithblueformationsandhighonmylistasitisapparentlyoneofthebetterones.Itwasoneofthemorephysicallychallengingwithdescentsthroughrifts,crawling,chimneying,etc.ItalsoservedasagoodintroductiontocavinginthisregionofFrance.UnlikeourpracticesintheUS,theFrenchareverymuchintomodifyingcavestomaketraveleasier.Thisofteninvolvesfixedmetalladdersatclimbs,u-shapedpiecesof
rebarsetintherocktomakeclimbseasier,cablesslungacrossbodiesofwater,andcrawlwaysdugouttomakethemeasier.Severalspotsonthisandsubsequenttripsmightotherwisehaveinvolveduseoffullverticalgear,butinstead,weworeharnessesandcowstailsandclippedintofixedlinesforsafety.
OurguidesonthetripwereDanielChailloux,knownforhisexcellent3Dphotography,andoneofthemainexplorersofthecave,aswellasJean-MarieChauvet,bestknownasoneofthediscoverersoftheGrotteChauvet,whichcontainstheoldest
knownpaleolithicpaintingsyetfoundinEurope.Jean-Marieis alsoanexcellentphotographer,buton thistripwasdoingsomevideography.
Anhourandahalfoftravelledustothefirstoftworoomswithblueformations.Thefirsthadawallofthemabout15feetlongand4feethigh,coveredwithbluehelictites,stalactites,andpopcorn.Intermingledweresimilarfeaturesinpurewhite.Nearbyweresmallerspraysofneedle-likeblueformations.Inasecondsmallroomjustbeyond,a2-foothighbluecolumngavewaytoboringoldmassesoflargewhitehelictitesandother
bizarreclustersofcrystals.Mostofuseworkedinpairsdoingmostlyclose-ups,butItriedtogetoverallareashotstoshowtheformationsincontext.
Thefloorsneartheformationswereflaggedoffwithsmallcableswithsmallredflags,andin thesedelicatechambersahelmets-offpolicywasineffect.Thisisa
policyIapplymyselfwheneverIamphotographingdelicateareas:withjustahedlampon,youhaveamuchbettersenseofwhereyouarerelativetodelicatestuffontheceiling.Ahundredorsophotoslateritwastimetoleavefortheeveningmeal
Grotte de Pousselires
Thislargecavesystemisknownforlargenumbersofwhitespeleothemsanddeflectedstalactitescoveredwithsmallfilamentoushelictites.Itinvolvedadescentofsome300verticalfeetthroughbreakdownthathadbeenthesceneofextensiveexcavationthathadpaidoffwithmilesofcavebeyond.Oneofthemostfunpartswasatraverseofabout100feetoverariftsome60feetdeep,involvingrepeatedclippingandunclippingwithyourdoublecowstails.Aseriesofstanchionshadbeeninstalledto
maketraveleasier.BeyondledtoseveraformationroomssuchastheCometRoom,withtrailsmarkedwithcableselevatedabousixinchesofftheground,withreflectors.UnfortunatelymywifedidntcomeonthisonesomyphotographywasmorelimitedButfortunatelyIstillendedupwithanicmodelformyphotos,asthetripleaders
The 12th century bridge in Olargues, a wonderful place for a stroll
Juan Perez on a line strung over a pool in Grotte de Pousselires
Right: Spanish caver Maria Moreno on a ladder series in PN77
Michel Renda (left) and legendary caver Michel Siffre
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daughterManonhadcomealongandwasotherwiseunoccupiedwhilewewereshoot-
ingphotos.Andevendressedinred...Oneofthefamousformationsinthiscave,whichourleaderswereunabletolocate,isthespiderformation,astalactitewhosetipbranchesaclusterofsixteensodastraws.FortunatelyIobtainedanimagefromoneoftheotherphotographerswhowentonalatertrip,toincludewiththisarticle.
Grotte de lAscenscion
AftertwodaysofrelativelyhardtripsIwasreadyforaneasycave.Thisonehadnovertical,justashortsqueezeintoapleasantwalling-heightstreamwaythatcontinued
about700feetwithlotsofflowstoneanddraperies,allverywetandactive.Themarble
wallsandformationsremindedmeofsomeofourcavesinSequoiaNationalPark.Perhapsthemostphotographedstretchwasanareawitharcing,parallelsetsofdrapes,alltranslucent.
ThiswasanicesocialtripwiththeWidmersandChrisandJudith.Despitebeingashortcavetherewasplentytophoto-graph,includinganupperlevelboots-offareabehindalargefree-hangingflowstone
mound.LaterIfoundoutthatwehadmissedafossilturtleshellsaidtoexistinthecave.Foracavewithsucheasyaccess,itwasinverygoodcondition,probablybecauselikemostofthecaveswevisited,ithadagate.
Grotte Verte
WhileFrancehasseveralcaveswithblueformationsthereisapparentlyjustonewithabundantgreenformations.ThisisthecavefromwhichthecoverofthesecondeditionofCave Minerals of the Worldwastaken(whilethethirdeditionfeaturedoneoftheblueformationsfromsouthernFrance).
Remarkably,thegreenformationsarefoundinonlyonetinychamber,onlyabout10feetwideand25feethigh,inamuchlargercavesystem.Itisratherlikeageodeinanareathatisotherwisecompletelydevoidofdeco-rations.Thegreencolorisfromthecoppercarbonatemineralmalachite.
Toreachitinvolvedadescentofabout200feetthroughaseriesofsmalldropsinapitbrokenupwithledgesandbreakdownchockstones.Nolessthansixrebelayshadtobenegotiatedinthisshortdistance.Midwaydown,onemustleavethepitseries,asitthencontinuesdownamuchlargershaft.
Instead,oneclimbsupashortrope,goesthroughagate,anddescendsanotherropeof75feetwhichlandsnexttoatent.Infact,thetentisacomfortablewaitingroomwithchairsandastove,builtbytheassociationwhichmanagesthecave.HereonemustwaittheirturntoascendintoLaGeode,asonlytwopeopleatatimeareallowedintheroomabove.Herewewereinstructedtoleaveourdirtyouterwareandourharnesses.Justoutsidethetentisthebaseofaseriesofladdersthatclimbabout50feetupintotheGreenRoom.Beforeascending,ahoseisusedtocleanonesboots.
AsIwasascendingthenarrowladdersIwishedIdbeenabletoclipintotheropethatranalongside.Buttheyweresolidlyanchored,providedsolidfooting,andexcite-mentgrippedmeasIascendedtotheroomwhichIdlongedtoseeformanyyears.Iwasnotdisappointed.Noneofthephotoshadquitepreparedmefortheamazingcollec-tionofhelictites,stalagmites,stalactites,andflowstonethatcoveronefullwalloftheGreenRoom,northeamazingdiversityofgreenishhuesthatcomprisedthem.Mixedinwiththegreenweresomerangingfrom
purewhitetoyellowtolightgreen,andanamazingvarietyofhelictiticforms.
IwasintheroomwithaGermanphotographer,MichaelShopper,whospokeexcellentEnglish.Ourallottedtimewasjusonehour,asthereweresixotherstovisittheroomonthistrip.Ratherthanassisteachother,andsincethearealentitselfbesttoclose-ups,itprovedeasiesttopropflashesonledgesontheportionsoftheroomwhichweredevoidofformations,oronthefloor.managedtoshootoverahundredproperlexposedphotosinthattime,aboutathirdinstereo.Fortunatelybothofushadradio
slavesandcouldeachdomultipleflashshotatthesametimewithoutsettingoffeachothersflashes.
ThetripendedupbeingmuchlongethanexpectedforonememberofaSpanishcavingteamwhomissedtheturnoffandstarteddescendingthelargepit.ShethencamebacktothesurfacewhereMichaeandIhadalreadyreturnedafterourvisit.Thoughtousitseemedratherlatetoheadbackin,shewentdown,hadaquickvisittotheroom,andwasbackupinabout1.5hours.Que Macha!
Aven des PerlesAsmallgemofacave,thisonewa
enteredbydescendingasolidlyconstructed60-footladderforwhichmostusedanascenderforsafety.Iinsteadusedmymicrorackandthisprovedmuchquickeonthedescent.Thecaveisprotectedbyadedicatedgroupofcaverswhorelyontwogatesandsecrecy.Mostofthecavesflooriscoveredinflowstonewithmanyclustersoffinecavepearls.Onegroupissortoroundedwithhexagonaledges,andreddishincolor,whichIcalledtheraviolipearls.The
The 60-foot ladder in Aven des Perles
Dan Legnini reviews his shots of the pearlsin the Aven des Perles
Thinking outside the box: a tripod in use toposition a ash for backlighting a helictite.
ChrisHowes
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Sue Widmer in Grotte de lAscension (Urs Widmer)
Blue owstone on draperies, Grotte des Ecossaises (Kasia Biernacka)
The same spot in Grotte de lAscenscion as shot by two photographer
working independently. Above, Judith Calford, shot by Chris Howes, us
strong backlight and a weaker frontlight (directed mainly at the model,
also giving detail above the bacon strips).
Below, photo by Dave Bunnell of his wife Elizabeth in the same spot us
just a single backlight ash. The detail on the model is all from light re
ected back off the bacon, and relied on some post-processing of the le to bring out.
Kasia Biernacka in the Aven des Roses (Marcin Gala)
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he ravioli-shaped pearls in Aven des Perles (Dave Bunnell)
Annick Normandin in Aven des Crozes (Luc Le Blanc)
ubmerged pearls in Aven des Roses (Ovidiu Guja)
Spider formation in
Grotte de Pousselires
(Ovidiu Guja)
Crystals in Aven des Crozes (Roberto F. Garcia / Lorenzo Saezespeleofoto.com)
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Juan Perez in Aven des Crozes (Sergio Laburu - FUE- espeleofoto.com
lizabeth Rousseau in Aven des Crozes (Dave Bunnell)
Close up, Aven des Crozes (Dave Bunnell). Also visiible in photo below.
Juan Perez in Aven des Crozes (Sergio Laburu- - FUE- espeleofoto.com
Roberto Garcia in Aven des Crozes (Roberto Garcia-espeleofoto.com)
Close up, Aven des Crozes (Dave Bunnell)
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Images from The Grotte Verte. Below left, Michael Shopper arrives at th
top of the ladder climbs into La Gode. Photos by Dave Bunnell except
the closeup photo on the left, taken by Josep Herrerias and Sergio Lab
of the Espeleofoto team
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trailiswellmarkedwithcordsasinmanyoftheotherdecoratedcaverooms.Therewerealsosomeveryfinesetsofdraperiesandsomeoutstandingmixturesofred-orangehues,sotherewasmuchtophotographinthisshortcave.Forthisonetherewere12ofusallowed,sothoughwetriedtospreadout,youweresometimesworkingquitenearbyotherphotographers.OnceagainIwashappytobeusingradioslaveswhile
workingnearother!
Other Conference Caves
InadditiontothefivecavesIvisited,thereweretripstosixothercavesinthearea:SourcesdelaDouch,GrotteduPN77,GrottedesEcossaises,GrottedeCabrespine(partofwhichisdevelopedfortourism),GrottedeLauzinas,andtheAvendesRoses.
Final Day
Onourlastday,Saturday,nocavingwasscheduled.Instead,variousphotogra-phersgavetalksontechniquesforthefirst
halfoftheday.MostinterestingtomewasPhilippespresentationoftheuseofasupersnootmadefrompvcpipe,whenyouwanttoilluminateyourmodelinabacklitshotwithoutwipingouttheeffectsofyourback-light.ChrisHowesvolunteeredthathehadsometimesplacedaflashinsideaWellingtonboottoproducethesameeffect!Aftera
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freeafternoon,therewasagalaeveningofpresentations.Thelatterwereheldinthevillagesgymnase,withahugesilverscreensetupforaseriesof3Dslideshows.TheaudienceincludedmanyfolksfromthevillageofOlargues.Tostartoff,aspecialprogramwasheldforwhicheachphotographerorphototeamhadearlierthatdaypickedtheirtwofavoritephotosmadeduringtheweek.Tomakeitevenmoreformal,Philippeshotniceportraitsofeachofus,shownjustbeforeourtwophotoselections,andwehadtoeachgetupinfrontoftheaudience
andexplainwhywepickedthetwophotoswedidandwhatwelikedaboutthem.Notacompetition,butanicechancetoseewhatothershaddoneduringtheweek.Myguesswasthatatleastathirdofwhatwasshownwouldhavewonribbonsinourphotosalon.
Followingthiswastheeveningsmainaffair,asetofshowsbytheLaSalle3Dteam,mostlyfocusedoncavesofsouthernFrance
(someoftheseIhadseenattheNSSConvention,buttheywereallwellworthasecondviewing).Perhapsmostamazing
wasashowofphenom-enalclose-upsofcolorfulmineralspecimens.Thedepthoffieldonthesewasamazing,achievedbyshootingupto40separateframeswithfocusatdifferentlevelstoyieldoneulta-sharpphoto.And,allin3D!Anotherhighlightamongthe3DshowswasoneoftheGrotteChauvet
composedofimagesthatJean-Mariehadshotsoonafteritsdiscovery.Youcouldreallyseehowtheartistshadusedthecontoursothewallstoenhancetheirpaintings.
aCknowleDgemenTs
SpecialthankstoPhilippeandAnnieandtherestforputtingonwhatwasperhapsthemostfuncavingeventIveeverattendedTheirhopeisthatanothergroupwillorganizeasimilarmeetingatadifferentlocationandprospectivefuturevenuesincludeSpainandtheUK.Forme,itwasdefinitelyinter
estingtoseehowothercavephotographersworkwhilegettingtovisitsomecavesthathadbeenonmyWishListforyears.
Thanksalsotothephotographerswhorespondedtomyrequesttosubmitphotosforthisarticle,putforthtothefullgroupothosewhoattended.Manymorecanbeseenonthesewebsites:www.espeleofoto.comwww.wildplacesphotography.co.uk,wwwintech.ro/photography
We cavers made ourselves at home at the Campotel. Gear could becleaned in the river just behind it. No decon required!
Group shot of all those at-
tending the conference
The caterer prepares a seafood paella