It may sound boring to many TriTrogs, but I spent a lot of time at the 2012 NSS Convention learning how to improve my photographic skills. I spent Wednesday morning in a cave photography workshop taught by John Charles Woods (http://www.johncharleswoods.net/pages/page2.html) and Peter Jones (http://www.pjcaver.com/shotindark.htm). Then they took the photographers to the back of Lost World Caverns for the afternoon shoot. I mainly got to play the model in my bright blue coveralls, and Peter's firefly flashes were going off in my face every time any one of the photographers within 100 yards of me took a shot. I had just enough time with my own camera to shoot a pic of the backs of some other photographers. It was great to listen to two men who have spent their careers on photography (I really hope that they teach a three-day course next year as a pre-convention field camp). They illustrated to me how much cave photography has changed with the advances of digital post-processing.
Thursday I really lucked out to be invited on another cave photography trip with Diana Gietl, Bill Storage, and Andrea Futrell. Doug Medville also joined us later in Wolf Creek Cave. After the workshop I finally understood why Bill takes extra shots without the models for use in his digital post-processing. My film camera teachers showed me an awful lot over the years, but today's high quality digital photos go a few steps further to making excellent prints.
Then Friday morning I bought On Three, the CD about digital cave photography. I also enjoyed the Cave Print Salon critique where I learned how the judges decide what makes a great cave photograph. Now it's time to get back underground with my camera.
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