On Caves and Cameras (New Cave Photography Book)

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On Caves and Cameras (New Cave Photography Book)

Postby CaverScott » Sep 6, 2005 7:53 am

New Book on Cave Photography published by the NSS:

On Caves and Cameras
A Comprehensive Guide to Underground Photography
Edited by Norman R. Thompson and
John Van Swearingen IV

Whether you are just beginning to take pictures with a point-and-shoot camera or have many years of experience photographing in the dark, you will find information tailored to your needs. Topics include: single-flash and multiple-flash photography, point-in-shoot cameras, digital cameras, photo-editing software, lighting huge spaces, close-up photography, and photography in show caves. This book will enable you to take better photographs - and inspire you to do so!
336 pages, HB.

http://www.caves.org/service/bookstore/ ... tions.html

Member price is $35, Non-Member Price is $38
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Re new cave photography book

Postby Arthur Clarke » Sep 6, 2005 10:21 am

Scott...

or someone else: can you please advise the publication date for this book and also advise the cave photographer credentials for the authors... or are they merely just "authors" in the sense of being writers/compilers of the book ?

Cheers
Arthur C.
Last edited by Arthur Clarke on Sep 9, 2005 3:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Pub Date

Postby CaverScott » Sep 6, 2005 6:43 pm

It was published in July 2005.

I will have to get one of the authors or the owner of a copy of the book to provide the rest.
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authors of the NSS photo book

Postby Dave Bunnell » Sep 6, 2005 10:45 pm

Arthur,

There are actually sixteen authors in this book. and 33 chapters. Most of the authors are well-known as ribbon/medal winners in the NSS photo salons over the years. A number of us could even be classed as professional cave photographers based on regular sales of photos.

The book was just published this summer. It has been years in the making but I tried hard to make sure it had the most up-to-date information on digital photography. The book also has chapters on many specialty topics like lava tubes, sea caves, water photos, cave diving, pits, natural light, photoshop techniques, panoramas, stereo, show caves, etc. It covers a lot of ground not covered in Chris Howes' excellent book owing to the diversity afforded by so many authors and the recent advent of digital techniques.

Hopefully this answers your questions...
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authors of the NSS photo book

Postby Arthur Clarke » Sep 7, 2005 3:52 am

Dave (and Scott):

Many thanks for your reply/ replies.

Based on Dave's comments, it sounds like I should get hold of a copy. I shall check out the website link and may post something to our local Australian Speleo Federation cave photography list server group.

Cheers all...
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On Caves and Cameras

Postby claustrophobe » Oct 29, 2005 3:47 pm

At 35 bucks, this book is a steal. It covers all the basics like camera types, film types, composition and shutter speeds then goes into great detail on a myriad of lighting possibilities with bulbs, strobe, natural and even carbide lamps. There are numerous examples with explanatory text, diagrams and all the technical info and sources a person might need.
Chromes, B&W, digital - all of it.
Best of all, it's a great collection of beautiful cave photos by a diverse group of well known and not so well known photographers with their opinions, insights and favorite techniques. Robert Nymeyer would have loved this book even though it doesn't mention his lighting technique of juicing up magnesium powder with powder from his 12 gauge shells.
Hats off to the team who made it happen.
(No, I didn't get paid to write this. It really is an outstanding book and well worth the price of a few rolls of film or a few megs of memory)
George Fish, #27463
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Postby Scott Sievertsen » Nov 30, 2005 1:45 pm

anything on videography in this book?
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On Caves and Cameras Information

Postby Lynn » Nov 30, 2005 2:35 pm

Perhaps the following will provide a bit more information about the book.

On Caves and Cameras
Published 2005 National Speleological Society
Edited By Norman R. Thompson and John Van Swearingen IV
Foreward By Chris Howes
With Chapters Contributed By
Peter and Ann Bosted
Val Hildreth-Werker
Ralph Earlandson
William Dooley
Kenrick L. Day
Dave Bunnell
Chip Clark
Peter Jones
James Jasek
Dick LaForge
Carol Vesely
Marc Tremblay
Rolan Vinyard
Norman Thompson
John Van Swearingen IV


Chapter / Title
1 Cave Softly, Photography Gently…and Leave No Trace
2 The Basics
3 Basics Of Flash Photography
4 Point-and-Shoot Cameras
5 Camera Selection
6 Accessories
7 Film
8 Flashbulbs
9 Electronic Flash Photography
10 Single-Flash Photography
11 Multiple-Flash Photography
12 Painting with Light
13 Black-and-White Photography
14 Close-Up Photography
15 Shaft Photography
16 Natural Light In Entrances And Pits
17 Panoramic Photography
18 Lava Tube Photography
19 Water Scene Photography
20 Sea Cave Photography
21 Stereo Photography
22 Underwater Photography
23 Show Cave Photography
24 Digital Photography
25 Effective Use Of Models
26 Special Techniques
27 Improving The Less-Than-Perfect Cave Photo
28 The Finishing Touches
29 Notes On Being a Photographic Assistant
30 How To Reward Photographic Assistants
31 Whose Photo Is It, Anyway?
32 The NSS Photographic Salon
33 Cave Photography And Art
Autobiographies
http://www.flickr.com/groups/cavers CAVERS, CAVES & CAVING PHOTOS
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lighting for videography

Postby Dave Bunnell » Dec 1, 2005 7:13 pm

I've only dabbled a bit with videography in caves, but it seems to me that the type of light placement good for still photos has a lot of application to video. A bit more challenging since lights that are hidden by your model, like backlights, would need to be in the plane in which the actors are moving.

So in short, though the book has nothing specific to video, if you can learn to light your videos as a good cave photographer might, you'll at least have nice images. The story and the editing are of course outside the scope, but I could someday see a cave video book coming.

Happy filming,
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