Vurley still gassed up. Just one old man and a crocked ex doctor free today. Well I needed a trip as I missed out last week. Peter wanted to take a few photos plus we had volunteered to cement in the stemples on the climb to Herbert's Attic in Golgotha. Well Peter was bruised across the chest and down one arm after attempting a " Flying Angel " at Devil's Elbow in GB Cave last week. There was more flying than expected hence the bruises. Golgotha is a superb bit of passage . A relict phreatic riser with slickenside walls. A sod to photograph and get scale so I thought I would try it in Olympus Live Composite Mode on the TG 4. To be fair it's just the sort of shot that Live Composite Mode was made for.

This view is looking down from the Herbert's Attic climb. I could have gone higher if we were not mending the stemples.
Peter is the tiny figure just below the huge jammed boulder. Set up and shot time about two minutes !

The first image I took with Peter having a rest.

Impressive... very impressive!

Peter climbing Golgotha viewed from the bottom.

Needless to say I am totally sold on LCM. No flashguns, minutes to set up, no back scatter , just two people to needed on the trip. No, its not perfect but it works well. My Frozen Deep shots look great on Aluminum prints hung on the wall. These images just required my tiny collapsible tripod and a Scurion headlamp.

On the way in. Pulsation Aven in LCM.



Grand Gallery in LCM

Nice. Next time you're looking for something to do, or an excuse to go caving and be useful, bring out the rotting planks in there. Wood in caves is the bane of my life.

Back to the conventional Programme mode for the record shots.

Peter cementing the stemples.



Mixing cement.



The big jammed boulder in Golgotha.



Peter on the climb.



Stanton's amazing vertical dry stone walled digs to Golgotha.



Stanton's walling in the Golgotha dig.

Cap'n Chris said:

Nice. Next time you're looking for something to do, or an excuse to go caving and be useful, bring out the rotting planks in there. Wood in caves is the bane of my life.

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Yes Sir. Cap'n Sir :bow:

It was on the list but Peter is crocked and I am old. The planks are now rotting nicely at Jill's Slither having been transported down from The Silo. Please dear Reservoir Leaders remember the metal stemple things are designed for downward pressure only and not to be pulled. One came out recently and there was a bit of a tis. The cement should hold them in place now. Also on the list was a restructuring of Ascension platform using plastic non rotting scaffold boards. Sadly still on the list.
I noticed several boulders kicked off the route onto other areas. These must be sorted when they happen or better still not happen at all. I replaced them today.

Some great photos there Mr O.R. Must try the LCM thing on my TG-4.

What is LCM?

Live Composite Mode. Not quite sure how it works, no doubt Mr O.R. will be able to explain further.

Think high tec light painting.  It's brilliant I use it all the time. Recently I've been taking an old phone with me to remote control the camera which allows you to move around and even get into the picture yourself. Another advantage of using a mobile is the bigger screen is easier for aging eyesight.

Yes high tec light painting which I assume comes as layers hence the word composite. The camera focuses automatically. Set up on tripod and compose view with Live Composite Mode on the Scene menu on the Olympus TG 4. Pressure shutter button, the camera will make a noise which indicates that the mode is operating. Then just paint in scene with your headlamp or torch. Press shutter button to end the sequence. Watch for high spots of light and uneven light coverage. Some cropping later can help but you wont be able to do much with exposure edits etc. I usually do 5 or 6 shots per subject and chose the best. It only takes a few minutes. Your subjects have to be still and not focusing their lamp to make a high spot.

Thank you, TOR. I shall have to try this technique ? it seems to give good results.

The Captain mentioned ongoing conservation work in Reservoir Hole. Really that is the " duty " of all of the cave wardens. There is digging stuff at Jill's Slither which will have to come out eventually including those planks which we hope to use for tub rails. If any groups help to bring stuff out we normally waive the conservation fee. The cave is closed now for guided trips with just " maintenance" trips over Winter. We replaced the stemples as a matter of urgency as somebody slipped down when one came out. It's not particularly our job to do it so we combined that with a short photo trip. Note that Stanton's original stemples were used in their original position when we could have added a fixed ladder section. There is a handline on the climb as an extra aid and stop folk pulling on the stemples. I have to recount an episode on the climb from the 70's when Willie and his diggers dropped a plastic container of cider on me which burst making me stink of cider. It is recounted in Willie's log. Peter says they fueled digging trips with cider and chocolate.
Sadly the team disbanded and Stanton became ill before the Herbert's Attic dig could be completed. ( If ever that was possible ). He could have had a nasty surprise dropping into Resurrection though the phreatic up loop continued to Sealed Up above The Frozen Deep.
Stanton walked down Grand Gallery hundreds of times without knowing that High Country was running above it. He  put in a massive effort to reach Golgotha after abandoning Topless Aven Dig. He could have found The Frozen Deep in a couple of months but was not keen on working in confined digging spaces. Stanton's theories about Reservoir Hole were basically correct but he did not allow for the true complexities of it. In retrospect everything is obvious . Working it all out beforehand much more difficult.

Cap'n Chris said:

Nice. Next time you're looking for something to do, or an excuse to go caving and be useful, bring out the rotting planks in there. Wood in caves is the bane of my life.

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On the list but yesterday with a crocked up shoulder didn't fancy it.

I keep saying it Nick but if you shoot your LCM mode in RAW you can colour correct, remove highlights etc etc more effectively. My FB shots were all shot in RAW and JPG and nearly all the JPGs get replaced by a modified RAW. If you look at the mode on the TG4 you can combine the two in one shot.

Thanks TOR for sorting the stemples. It was me who had a slight scare there, thankfully my friend caught me so I didn't fall far. The stemple came out when I adjusted my weight on that foot, causing it to slip out at the same time my hands were not in the best position.

Twas me not OR who sorted them out. He took the photos. I would like to emphasise that they are OK if stood on. Ideally I would like to stick even more cement in to anchor them even more firmly. We still don't know of course who fell off as your moniker is indecipherable but apparently you were on a cas care course with Martin Grass when he heard about the incident. They have been loose for ever and a day (although I think they might originally have been hammered in) and the leader should have warned you (possibly he  did and it was just bad luck).

mrodoc said:

I keep saying it Nick but if you shoot your LCM mode in RAW you can colour correct, remove highlights etc etc more effectively. My FB shots were all shot in RAW and JPG and nearly all the JPGs get replaced by a modified RAW. If you look at the mode on the TG4 you can combine the two in one shot.

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You miss the point dear Pedro. I do not like excessive editing. A - cus I am a lazy old sod and B - cus it is often not naturalistic in the final edit . I could have put Micky Mouse on the climb and you in a polkadot dress but where does it all end?  Look at some cave photo work. Totally artificial . Yes perfect in every way but truly is the cave really like that ?Is life like that ?. Look at any fashion shoot. Totally beyond reason with the obsession with perfection. I aim for the moment and an upload or two here and on Facebook. Certainly not in " Vogue ".