Contents
Club Membership.
The committee have recently been examining the methods
whereby new members are introduced to, and join the club and have concluded
that some improvements could well be made. The details have not yet been fully worked out, but the main new
proposals include allowing a reasonable time for the prospective new member to
make himself known generally in the club and, after he becomes a member,
arranging matters so that his membership is not automatically renewable until,
a reasonable time has elapsed.
The idea behind these proposals is to ensure that the
interest of a new member in the clubs activities is sufficiently long lasting
to make it worthwhile offering him permanent membership. By this means it is hoped that we will
attract serious cavers and climbers whose interest is great enough for them to
remain active in club affairs for a number of years.
It will be some time before the results of such a tightening
of membership conditions can be seen, but meanwhile it is worth noting that
more stringent entry conditions do not necessarily lead to a decrease in
membership.
Archaeological Section.
Keith Gardner regrets that he has been too busy moving into
his new country residence to be able to produce Archaeological notes this
month, but meanwhile, any members with any queries of an archaeological nature,
or who want more information about the proposed activities of this section
should contact him at his new address which is-
K.S. Gardner, Telephone No.
Keedwell Cottage, Long Ashton 3048
Lane, Nat. Grid Ref.
Long Ashton,
ST 537 709
Notices
DON’T FORGET the annual Midsummer Barbeque. Names should be given to Sett stating whether
Belfry accommodation and/or Binder are wanted for that evening. Latest time for inclusion will be MIDDAY on
the day of the Barbecue; SATURDAY JUNE 24TH. The fire will be lit at 11 pm.
FOR
Len Dawes’ Austin Healey Sprite is now for sale. It is June 1959 and coloured Red. Extras include Michelin X all round; heater; washers; tonneau cover; reversing
light; front bumper; rev. counter; laminated windscreen; luggage rack and workshop
manual. Offers around £470 will be
considered.
Climbing Section.
There will be a visit to North Wales leaving
June and returning on Sunday evening. Camping in the Llanberis area. Anyone wanting to join the party get in touch
with Tony Dunn. Phone Evenings
Personal
Congratulations to our Climbing Secretary Tony Dunn and Fay
Walker on their engagement, announced on May 6th.
Photographic Competition
We have now received details from
the organiser, of the PHOTOGRAPHIC and SONG competitions which are to form part
of the Annual Dinner festivities this year. Members are reminded that the Annual Dinner normally falls on the FIRST
SATURDAY IN OCTOBER. The date, place,
etc., will be announced later, but we print this now to avoid the date taking
any members by surprise later.
There are to be four classes. Caving, monochrome print. Caving, 5.5mm colour transparency. Climbing, monochrome print. Climbing, 35mm colour transparency. Competitors may submit maximum of two
pictures to each class. Prizes will be
awarded to the winner and runner up in each class.
In order to give a better chance to all competing, a
competitor may win only in one class. Runners up will not be subjected to this rule. The prizes will be announced at a later date.
Entry forms will appear in next month’s B.B. The entries will be judged by three
non-competing first class photographers using an elimination system similar to
that employed by the Bradford Pothole Club. THE CLOSING DATE IS SEPTEMBER 15TH.
RULES.
1. Monochrome prints shall be postcard size or
larger.
2. Competitors may submit two photos to each class
as a maximum entry, making a maximum of eight in all.
3. No professional photographer may take part.
4. All film used must be obtainable from any retail
photographic dealer in the British Isles (excluding Eire and the
5. A picture entered in one class shall not be
entered as a print or transparency in another.
6. No responsibility for loss, damage or
destruction is to be borne by the organiser of the competition; his assistants
or the Bristol Exploration Club.
7. The competition is open only to fully paid up
members of the B.E.C. (This will be
checked!)
8. The decision of the judging panel is final.
9. The members of the judging panel may not
compote.
10. Processing must be done either by the competitor
without aid or by a retail photographic dealer in the
11. The entries must have been taken by the
competitor.
Song Competition
In order to brighten up the dinner, and subsequent nights at
the Hunters, a song competition is being arranged. The entries should be connected with caving
and/of climbing and should be humorous, up to date and original without being
vulgar. The competition is open to all,
but the prize will go to the best B.E.C. entry. It is hoped that this will not deter others from entering. We don’t mind if you cant sing or are shy of
performing in public, as the B.E.C. choir can always be laid on (Otherwise
known as the Bar Room Ballad Bashers) hindered if necessary by Alfie Collins and his Haphazard Harmony
If you can write your own tune as well, so much the bettor,
but this is not necessary. Only the
words need be your own work.
The method of judging, and instructions of how to enter will
be announced shortly. THE CLOSING DATE
WILL BE SEPTEMBER 15TH.
Cave Photography – Part Two – Technique
by John Attwood &
John Eatough.
Preparation.
Having suitable equipment and having decided to make a
caving photography trip, the first action should be to tick off the gear
against a cheek list, and this should be followed by a dummy run to see that
everything works satisfactorily. A flash
bulb and an exposure of film will not be wasted if it saves finding
unserviceable gear during what may be a long and difficult trip. If possible, a fresh film should be loaded
into the camera as reloading in caves can cause dirt and damp to enter the
camera with disastrous results to camera and film. In addition, fresh batteries should be put in
flash guns.
The checked and working equipment should then be carefully
wrapped in plastic bags and packed into the recommended ammunition boxes with
some plastic foam underneath. If those
boxes are not completely filled, plastic foam sheets can be added so that
cameras will not rattle about if the box is inverted. On top of everything, a piece of material
should be placed so that it can be used to wipe the hands before removing the
cameras etc.
Setting Up.
On arrival at the site of the proposed activity, the tripod
should be erected and then the hands wiped clean. After this, the ball and socket head placed
on the tripod and the camera and flash outfit set up.
Illumination.
The placing of the flashbulbs will be dictated by the
circuit stances. The position favoured
by the photographic manufacturers (of the camera that is) is, generally
speaking, the worst possible place for it giving a flat lighting. To give the best possible results, some
modelling light should be provided, by side lighting of some degree, and this
can be 45o or more from the camera axis, but wherever it is placed, care must
be taken to ensure that no direct light falls on the camera lens.
The best position for the lights can be determined by having
some source (i.e. electric head light) moved around while the subject is viewed
from the camera position. The
possibility of using back lighting should be examined as this often gives very
good results when used in conjunction with “fill-in” light’s. Care should be taken to conceal all wires,
whatever flash position is used.
When the situation being photographed is very wet, the
camera should be covered by a plastic bag until the last possible moment and if
the photographers clothing is wet, it will steam and this steam should not be
allowed to pass between the camera and the subject during exposure, as it will
cause an unpleasant softening off effect. The authors have seen many photographs spoilt by this steam from wet
clothing. A cable release can be very
helpful in this respect as the shutter can then be released from a distance.
Focussing.
When the camera is being focussed, care should be taken to
ensure that the correct distance setting is used. Due to lack of objects to use as a scale, and the lighting used by
cavers, judging distances can be very tricky and the distances deceptive. If your camera is not fitted with a
rangefinder, measure the range with a tape measure. This also applies to close ups using
supplementary lenses.
Provided .that the camera has a B setting, and a cable
release and tripod are available, the open flash method of illumination is by
far the most satisfactory as the danger of damp or dirty shutter contacts
causing early of late firing is removed. If some action photograph is required, the open flash method can still
be used if care is taken in setting up the camera and flash to cover the
estimated area of activity.
Exposure.
Calculation of the correct exposure is based on the output
of the main lighting, the speed of the film and the distance of the main light
from the subject. The Guide Numbers
supplied with each carton of bulbs can be relied on to give good results if
used intelligently i.e. reducing the factor by 25% or even 50% in very dark
surroundings, or for a dark subject and
increasing it by 25% for a light subject (e.g. Cascade in St. Cuthberts).
In the exposure calculation, the main light only is taken
into account, “fill-ins” being ignored. Where a lot of light is required it is
advisable to remember that where more than one flashbulb is used to light the
same area, the guide number is increased by the square root of the number of
bulbs used. This works out as, an
increase in guide number of 1.4 times for two flashbulbs; 1.7 for three and 2.0
for four.
If several bulbs are used in different places to illuminate
a scene, the camera shutter should be held open, but with the lens covered with a piece of
black paper or similar material so that the lamps of the people arranging the
lights do not record as long white lines while moving from one position to
another with the flashgun.
When leaving a photographic site in a cave, great care must
be taken to ensure that all the gear is packed into the boxes.
On return to the surface, all the equipment should be
cleaned and dried out. If possible,
remove the film from the camera and make sure that it is thoroughly dried out
before putting it away.
Editors
Note: There is not room for the suggested
check list of photographic gear in this B.B., but we will include it next
month.
September Series
by Richard Roberts
This is one of the most richly decorated series in St.
Cuthberts at the present moment. It is
reached by talking the large exit out of High Chamber (on the Right Hand
Side). From there, the route is very
complicated through a boulder ruckle and finally by a twelve foot climb into
September Chamber.
Once in the Chamber, a climb over the loose boulders to the
right leads to the real masterpiece. All
around, the stalactites are of the purest white. To the right again, the chamber extends for
about a hundred feet. The archways above
this are shrouded in stal. flow and the whole area has been vary sensibly taped
off. In the wall of the chamber at this
point, a glimpse can be had of a really beautiful grotto.
Down the boulder slope to the right, a passage loads off
which emerges in a small chamber – Trafalgar Chamber – in which is a magnificent column some three or four feet high.
A climb down a gently inclined slope at the lowest point in
September Chamber leads to a small pool and a narrow squeeze on the left. From there, the way opens into a large
passage with several stalagmite columns in the floor. This is the start of Victoria Passage. Following this down, one reaches a small
tunnel leading to a chamber with a crystalline floor. It is really a shame to have to walk over it. This is the
very abundant. The
ends in a narrow rift running at right angles to it. The left exit soon closes up, but the right
hand one loads to a largo aven in the roof which goes
? The whole series is very photogenic, and well
worth a visit.
Odd Items
A magnificent hole is being dug at the Belfry for rubbish
etc. This is the largest hole we have
ever dug and is well worth a visit before opening day. Work has started on the new Cuthberts
Entrance. Sett did a strenuous caving
exploration trip sorting out the passage which we hope to connect with. John Lamb has returned to Mendip and he and
Alfie celebrated by drinking a gallon each of Blue Keg. Nobody honked. Walt reckons that “they tourists”
are responsible for pinching stones off his walls. A piece of modern sculpture (complete with
hole) has been presented by Mike for the new hut. It has been found inadvisable to put too many
onions in Binder.
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The Belfry Bulletin Editor, S.J. Collins, 33,
Secretary. R. J. Bagshaw,
4.
Postal Department.