Putting it all Together

Lighting principles
While we want some shadowing to provide a sense of depth, we don’t want large, harsh shadows. A classic way to shoot a scene with two flashes is to have each at about 45-degrees to the camera. Each produces shadows, but harsh shadows tend to be canceled out. Often one uses a powerful main or “key” flash, and a second, weaker one to reduce the harshness of the shadows. Backlighting (aiming the flash directly towards the camera) produces very dramatic effects, bringing out wall features such as scallops quite well. Many cave formations are translucent, and backlighting can be used to emphasize this, as in the photos of the bacon on pages 38.
Flash placed underwater (pages x,y,z) can emphasize the blue-green nature of cave water. Otherwise, water often acts as a “light sponge,” because it often absorbs rather than reflects light, and can look very dark in relation to the rest of the scene.
Show Cave:
Unless you are photographing a particularly attractive cave formation, usually as a close-up, most cave photos tend to be more interesting with people in them. They give a sense of scale to the image, and if in motion, a sense of something happening in the image. If on a tour, typically I use one external flash with a synch cord that I can hold, and if someone is on the tour with me, they can hold a second external flash with a slave. Good pictures can be taken fairly quickly this way, but keep in mind that other people’s flashes will also trigger your slave.
Undeveloped caves
Without the constraints of a tour, you have much more flexibility when shooting in undeveloped caves. Indeed, the chief constraints are your equipment, the patience of those assisting you, and the need to protect the cave. The importance of the latter cannot be over emphasized. When shooting in delicate areas, utmost care must be taken not to damage the cave. Stepping on a bed of crystals or putting a muddy boot onto clean flowstone are never justified, no matter how important it is to get the flash in “just the right spot.” But there are many tricks that can be used, such as putting the flash on a monopod and holding it where you need it.
The ideal photo team has at least four people: one to act as a model, and two to man the flash units. The latter can help you compose your scene by shining their lights from the flash position. With fewer people, you can use tricks such as setting the extra flashes on rocks or ledges, or on tripods.
Remember to reward those who help you with copies of your best photos, since they have put in their time for YOUR photos.
Further reading
There is far too much to say about cave photography than can be said here. But there are two excellent books on the subject available through the National Speleological Society’s bookstore (www.caves.org). These are Images Below, by Chris Howes, and On Caves and Camera, published by the Society with contributions from many authors, including several chapters written by me.

From : Dave Bunnel

READ MORE ...

Equipment for Cave Photography

Other desirable features on a cave camera include a wide angle lens, and the ability to focus manually. Digitals typically have a maximum angle from 28mm to 38mm. Wider angles (e.g., 28 mm) allow more flexibility underground, because the nature of the cave often dictates how far away you can get from your subject (there may be a wall or a gaping abyss behind you). Manual focus is important because many cameras simply won’t autofocus in the darkness of a cave. In show caves, though, the installed lighting may be enough to allow an autofocus camera to work.
The vast majority of images in this book were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5000 (5 mp) digital camera. It has a 28 mm lens, and an adapter to allow a 19mm equivalent. Complete manual control was used every time.
Flash Units
Electronic flash units (strobes) are the bread-and-butter of cave photography. I typically carry four or more when shooting underground, ranging from very small to very powerful. The ideal flash unit is compact, powerful, has a manual fire switch, and capability to vary the output manually (i.e., to ½ power, ¼ power, etc.). Many flashes have both hotshoe and PC connections, one of which should work with your camera.
The lighting power of a flash is specified by its guide number (see sidebar), the higher the number the better. My favorite flashes, which meet all the above criteria, are the Vivitar 285, and the Sunpak 400 series, with a GN of about 80. By far the most versatile of flashes in the Sunpak 120J, which has a “bare-bulb” flash head with a reflector. Taking the reflector off gives a very broad range of illumination compared to the standard flashtube on most strobes.
To power electronic flashes, I recommend using rechargeable Nickel-metal hydride (Nimh) batteries. Get them in as high an amp-hour rating as you can find (2000 or higher in AA size). Not only are they better for the environment and less costly if you do lots of shooting, they also allow the strobes to recharge much more quickly than do alkaline cells.
Flashbulbs are not made any more, but are very useful for cave photography because of their high power and ability to spread light out over a wide area. They can also be used underwater, as in the various shots of the lakes in this book. Bulbs and the units to fire them can still be readily obtained on ebay or www.flashbulbs.com. Unlike electronic flash, bulbs can only be used once.
Slave units
As mentioned above, slave units can be attached to external flash units and triggered by a small flash on the camera. These units range from about $20 to $80. Many of the cheaper units are rather insensitive, and will only work if fairly close to, and in direct line of sight of, the trigger flash. Better units can respond to even reflected flash, and at great distances. The Wein Ultra-slave is rated by the manufacturer to respond to a flash 1500 feet away! Two highly sensitive slaves are manufactured specifically for cave photography: The Firefly Slave and the Gibson Slave.
Protecting your gear
If you only intend to shoot in show caves, gear protection involves little more than it does on the surface, such as a padded camera case. But shooting in undeveloped caves requires much more. They may be muddy and wet (as in the lower reaches of Black Chasm), and gear may have to be dragged through crawlways and pushed through small openings. I typically use waterproof plastic containers for my gear, such as the boxes made by Pelican and Otter. Less expensive options are Tupperware or other food containers. A bit of duct tape or stout rubber bands help ensure that the lid remains attached as they bounce around in a cave pack

Last post : Yohanes Kurnia Irawan
dari berbagai sumber

READ MORE ...

Photographic in Scene

Photographic cameras
The camera or camera obscura is the image-forming device, and photographic film or a silicon electronic image sensor is the sensing medium. The respective recording medium can be the film itself, or a digital electronic or magnetic memory.
Photographers control the camera and lens to "expose" the light recording material (such as film) to the required amount of light to form a "latent image" (on film) or "raw file" (in digital cameras) which, after appropriate processing, is converted to a usable image. Digital cameras replace film with an electronic image sensor based on light-sensitive electronics such as charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The resulting digital image is stored electronically, but can be reproduced on paper or film.
In all but certain specialized cameras, the process of obtaining a usable exposure must involve the use, manually or automatically, of a few controls to ensure the photograph is clear, sharp and well illuminated. The controls usually include but are not limited to the following:
Focus of the lens
Aperture of the lens – adjustment of the iris, measured as f-number, which controls the amount of light passing through the lens. Aperture also has an effect on focus and depth of field, namely, the smaller the opening [aperture], the less light but the greater the depth of field--that is, the greater the range within which objects appear to be sharply focused.
Shutter speed – adjustment of the speed (often expressed either as fractions of seconds or as an angle, with mechanical shutters) of the shutter to control the amount of time during which the imaging medium is exposed to light for each exposure. Shutter speed may be used to control the amount of light striking the image plane; 'faster' shutter speeds (that is, those of shorter duration) decrease both the amount of light and the amount of image blurring from subject motion or camera motion.
White balance – on digital cameras, electronic compensation for the color temperature associated with a given set of lighting conditions, ensuring that white light is registered as such on the imaging chip and therefore that the colors in the frame will appear natural. On mechanical, film-based cameras, this function is served by the operator's choice of film stock. In addition to using white balance to register natural coloration of the image, photographers may employ white balance to aesthetic end, for example white balancing to a blue object in order to obtain a warm color temperature.
Metering – measurement of exposure at a midtone so that highlights and shadows are exposed according to the photographer's wishes. Many modern cameras feature this ability, though it is traditionally accomplished with the use of a separate light metering device. To translate the amount of light into a usable aperture and shutter speed, the meter needs to input the sensitivity of the film or sensor to light. Thus there needs to be a setting for "film speed" or ISO sensitivity.
ISO speed – traditionally used to "tell the camera" the film speed of the selected film on film cameras, ISO speeds are employed on modern digital cameras as an indication of the system's gain from light to numerical output and to control the automatic exposure system. A correct combination of ISO speed, aperture, and shutter speed leads to an image that is neither too dark nor too light.
Auto-focus point – on some cameras, the selection of a point in the imaging frame upon which the auto-focus system will attempt to focus. Many Single-lens reflex cameras (SLR) feature multiple auto-focus points in the viewfinder. Many other elements of the imaging device itself may have a pronounced effect on the quality and/or aesthetic effect of a given photograph; among them are:
Focal length and type of lens (telephoto or "long" lens, macro, wide angle, fisheye, or zoom) Filters or scrims placed between the subject and the light recording material, either in front of or behind the lens. Inherent sensitivity of the medium to light intensity and color/wavelengths. The nature of the light recording material, for example its resolution as measured in pixels or grains of silver halide.

Controlling the photographic exposure and rendering
Camera controls are inter-related. The total amount of light reaching the film plane (the "exposure") changes with the duration of exposure, aperture of the lens, and, the effective focal length of the lens (which in variable focal length lenses, can change as the lens is zoomed). Changing any of these controls can alter the exposure. Many cameras may be set to adjust most or all of these controls automatically. This automatic functionality is useful for occasional photographers in many situations.
The duration of an exposure is referred to as shutter speed, often even in cameras that don't have a physical shutter, and is typically measured in fractions of a second. Aperture is expressed by an f-number or f-stop (derived from focal ratio), which is proportional to the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the aperture. If the f-number is decreased by a factor of , the aperture diameter is increased by the same factor, and its area is increased by a factor of 2. The f-stops that might be found on a typical lens include 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, where going up "one stop" (using lower f-stop numbers) doubles the amount of light reaching the film, and stopping down one stop halves the amount of light.
Exposures can be achieved through various combinations of shutter speed and aperture. For example, f/8 at 8 ms (=1/125th of a second) and f/5.6 at 4 ms (=1/250th of a second) yield the same amount of light. The chosen combination has an impact on the final result. In addition to the subject or camera movement that might vary depending on the shutter speed, the aperture (and focal length of the lens) determine the depth of field, which refers to the range of distances from the lens that will be in focus. For example, using a long lens and a large aperture (f/2.8, for example), a subject's eyes might be in sharp focus, but not the tip of the nose. With a smaller aperture (f/22), or a shorter lens, both the subject's eyes and nose can be in focus. With very small apertures, such as pinholes, a wide range of distance can be brought into focus.
Image capture is only part of the image forming process. Regardless of material, some process must be employed to render the latent image captured by the camera into the final photographic work. This process consists of two steps, development, and printing.
During the printing process, modifications can be made to the print by several controls. Many of these controls are similar to controls during image capture, while some are exclusive to the printing process. Most controls have equivalent digital concepts, but some create different effects. For example, dodging and burning controls are different between digital and film processes. Other printing modifications include:

• Chemicals and process used during film development
• Duration of exposure – equivalent to
• Shutter speed
• Printing aperture – equivalent to aperture, but has no effect on depth of field
• Contrast
• Dodging – reduces exposure of certain print areas, resulting in lighter areas
• Burning – increases exposure of certain areas, resulting in darker areas
• Paper texture – glossy, matte, etc
• Paper type – resin-coated (RC) or fiber-based (FB)
• Paper size
• Toners – used to add warm to cool tones to black and white

Uses of photography
Photography gained the interest of many scientists and artists from its inception. Scientists have used photography to record and study movements, such as Eadweard Muybridge's study of human and animal locomotion in 1887. Artists are equally interested by these aspects but also try to explore avenues other than the photo-mechanical representation of reality, such as the pictorialist movement. Military, police, and security forces use photography for surveillance, recognition and data storage. Photography is used to preserve memories of favorite times, to capture special moments, to tell stories, to send messages, and as a source of entertainment.
Commercial advertising relies heavily on photography and has contributed greatly to its development.

History of photography
Nicéphore Niépce's earliest surviving photograph, c. 1826. This image required an eight-hour exposure, which resulted in sunlight being visible on both sides of the buildings. Photography is the result of combining several technical discoveries. Long before the first photographs were made, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1040) invented the camera obscura and pinhole camera,[2] Albertus Magnus (1193–1280) discovered silver nitrate, and Georges Fabricius (1516–1571) discovered silver chloride. Daniel Barbaro described a diaphragm in 1568. Wilhelm Homberg described how light darkened some chemicals (photochemical effect) in 1694. The fiction book Giphantie, by French author Tiphaigne de la Roche, described what can be interpreted as photography.

Photography as a usable process goes back to the 1820s with the development of chemical photography. The first permanent photograph was an image produced in 1826 by the French inventor Nicéphore Niépce. However, the picture took eight hours to expose, so he went about trying to find a new process. Working in conjunction with Louis Daguerre, they experimented with silver compounds based on a Johann Heinrich Schultz discovery in 1724 that a silver and chalk mixture darkens when exposed to light. Niépce died in 1833, but Daguerre continued the work, eventually culminating with the development of the daguerreotype in 1837. Eventually, France agreed to pay Daguerre a pension for his formula, in exchange for his promise to announce his discovery to the world as the gift of France, which he did in 1839.
Meanwhile, Hercules Florence had already created a very similar process in 1832, naming it Photographie, and William Fox Talbot had earlier discovered another means to fix a silver process image but had kept it secret. After reading about Daguerre's invention, Talbot refined his process so that it might be fast enough to take photographs of people. By 1840, Talbot had invented the calotype process, which creates negative images. John Herschel made many contributions to the new methods. He invented the cyanotype process, now familiar as the "blueprint". He was the first to use the terms "photography", "negative" and "positive". He discovered sodium thiosulphate solution to be a solvent of silver halides in 1819, and informed Talbot and Daguerre of his discovery in 1839 that it could be used to "fix" pictures and make them permanent. He made the first glass negative in late 1839.
In March of 1851, Frederick Scott Archer published his findings in "The Chemist" on the wet plate collodion process. This became the most widely used process between 1852 and the late 1880s when the dry plate was introduced. There are three subsets to the Collodion process; the Ambrotype (positive image on glass), the Ferrotype or Tintype (positive image on metal) and the negative which was printed on Albumen or Salt paper.
Many advances in photographic glass plates and printing were made in through the nineteenth century. In 1884, George Eastman developed the technology of film to replace photographic plates, leading to the technology used by film cameras today.
In 1908 Gabriel Lippmann won the Nobel Laureate in Physics for his method of reproducing colours photographically based on the phenomenon of interference, also known as the Lippmann plate.

-dari berbagai sumber-

READ MORE ...

Sejarah Fotografi

Fotografi adalah dunia yang dinamis dan memiliki dimensi yang luas. Pengetahuan bahwa citra dapat terbentuk pada sebuah permukaan dalam sebuah ruang gelap (camera obscura ) diperkirakan berasal dari Cina Kuno.

Tahun 1000.

Al Hazen, seorang pelajar berkebangsaan Arab, menulis bahwa citra dapat dibentuk dari cahaya yang melewati sebuah lubang kecil.

Sekitar 400 tahun kemudian.

Leonardo da Vinci, juga menulis mengenai fenomena yang sama. Seandainya tulisan da Vinci dipublikasi, kemungkinan ia dianggap sebagai penemu prinsip kerja kamera.

Tahun 1558.

Battista Delta Porta, dianggap sebagai penemu prinsip kerja kamera melalui buku tentang Camera Obscura yang dipublikasikannya. Kemungkinan karyanya tersebut didasari pada penemuan-penemuan da Vinci.

Awal abad 17.

Ilmuwan Italia, Angelo Sala menemukan bahwa bila serbuk perak nitrat dikenai cahaya, warnanya akan berubah menjadi hitam. Bahkan saat itu, dengan komponen kimia tersebut, ia telah berhasil merekam gambar-gambar yang tak bertahan lama. Probelam yang belum bisa diatasinya ialah menghentikan proses kimia, setelah gambar-gambar terekam agar permanen.

Tahun 1727.

Johann Heinrich Schuize, profesor farmasi dari Universitas di Jerman, juga menemukan hal yang sama pada percobaan yang tak berhubungan dengan fotografi. Ia memastikan bahwa komponen perak nitrat menjadi hitam karena cahaya dan bukan oleh panas.

Sekitar tahun 1800.

Thomas Wedgwood, seorang Inggris, bereksperimen untuk merekam gambar positif dari citra yang telah melalui lensa pada camera obscura (sekarang ini disebut kamera) tapi hasilnya sangat mengecewakan. Akhirnya ia berkonsentrasi sebagaimana juga Schuize, membuat gambar-gambar negatif (sekarang ini dikenal fotogram), pada kulit atau kertas putih yang telah disaputi komponen perak dan menggunakan cahaya matahari sebagai penyinaran.Tahun 1824.Setelah melalui berbagai proses penyempurnaan oleh berbagai orang dengan berbagai jenis pekerjaan dari berbagai negara. Akhirnya pria Perancis bernama Joseph Nieephore Niepee, seorang lithograf berhasil membuat gambar permanen pertama yang dapat disebut FOTO (tak menggunakan kamera), melalui proses yang disebutnya Heliogravure (proses kerjanya mirip lithograf) dengan menggunakan sejenis aspal (yang disebutnya Bitumen of judea) sebagai bahan kimia dasarnya. Kemudian dicobanya menggunakan kamera ( NB: ada sumber yang menyebutkan Niepee sebagai orang pertama yang menggunakan lensa pada camera obscura. Pada masa itu lazimnya camera obscura hanya berlubang kecil), juga bahan kimia lainnya, tapi hasilnya tidak memuaskan.

Agustus 1827

Setelah saling menyurati beberapa waktu sebelumnya, Niepee berjumpa dengan Louis Daguerre, pria Perancis dengan beragam ketetrampilan tapi dikenal sebagai pelukis. Mereka merencanakan kerjasama untuk menghasilkan foto melalui penggunaan kamera.

Tahun 1829.

Niepee secara resmi bekerja sama dengan Daguerre, tapi Niepee meninggal dunia pada tahun 1833.

7 Januari 1839.

Dengan bantuan seorang ilmuwan untuk memaparkan secara ilmiah, Daguerre mengumumkan hasil penelitian. Penelitiannya selama ini kepada Akademi Ilmu Pengetahuan Perancis. Hasil kerjanya yang berupa foto-foto yang permanen itu disebut DAGUERRETYPE, yang tak dapat diperbanyak / reprint /repro. Saat itu Daguerre telah memiliki foto studio komersil dan Daguerretype tertua yang masih ada hingga kini diciptakannya tahun 1837.

25 Januari 1839.

William Henry Fox Talbot, seorang ilmuwan Inggris, memaparkan hasil penemuannya (tepatnya tahun 1834) berupa proses fotografi moderen kepada Institut Kerajaan Inggris. Berbeda dengan Daguerre, ia menemukan sistem negatif-positif ( bahan dasar : perak nitrat, diatas kertas). Walau telah menggunakan kamera, sistem itu masih sederhana seperti apa yang sekarang kita istilahkan : Contactprint (print yang dibuat tanpa pembesaran / pengecilan) dan dapat diperbanyak.

Juni 1840.

Talbot memperkenalkan Calotype, perbaikan dari sistem sebelumnya, juga menghasilkan negatif diatas kertas.Oktober 1847.Abel Niepee de St Victor, keponakan Niepee, memperkenalkan pengunaan kaca sebagai base negatif menggantikan kerta.

Januari 1850.

Seorang ahli kimia Inggris, Robert Bingham, memperkenalkan penggunaan Collodion sebagai emulsi foto, yang saat itu cukup populer denga sebutan WET-PLATE Fotografi.Setelah berbagai perkembangan dan penyempurnaan, penggunaan roll film mulai dikenal.

Juni 1888.

George Eastman, seorang Amerika, menciptakan revolusi fotografi dunia hasil penelitiannya sejak 1877. Ia menjual produk baru dengan merek KODAK berupa sebuah kamera box kecil dan ringan, yang telah berisi roll film (dengan bahan kimia Perak Bromida) untuk 100 exposure. Bila seluruh film digunakan, kamera (berisi film) dikirim ke perusahaan Eastman untuk diproses. Setelah itu kamera dikirimkan kembali dan telah berisi roll film yang baru. Berbeda denga kamera masa itu yang besar dan kurang praktis, produk baru tersebut memungkinkan siapa saja dapat memotret dengan leluasa.

Hingga kini.

Perkembangan fotografi terus mengalami perkembangan dan berevolusi menjadi film-film digital yang mutakhir tanpa menggunakan roll film. Itulah perkembangan dunia fotografi hingga masuk era digital.

-dari berbagai sumber-

semoga bermanfaat

READ MORE ...

Night Photography

Refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light or using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds or even minutes, in order to give the film enough time to capture a usable image, and to compensate for reciprocity failure. With the progress of high-speed films, higher-sensitivity digital image sensors, wide-aperture lenses, and the ever-greater power of urban lights, night photography is increasingly possible using available light.

HISTORIES
In the early 1900s, a few notable photographers, Alfred Stieglitz and William Fraser, began working at night. The first photographers known to have produced large bodies of work at night were Brassai and Bill Brandt. In 1932, Brassai published Paris de Nuit, a book of black-and-white photographs of the streets of Paris at night. During World War II, British photographer Brandt took advantage of the black-out conditions to photograph the streets of London by moonlight. In the late 1970s, Steve Harper taught the first college-level course on night photography at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. The legacy of this program has led to San Francisco becoming a center of night photography.

By the 1990s, British-born photographer Michael Kenna had established himself as the most commercially successful night photographer. His black-and-white landscapes were most often set between dusk and dawn in locations that included San Francisco, Japan, France, and England. Some of his most memorable projects depict the Ford Motor Company's Rogue River plant, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station in northern England, and many of the Nazi concentration camps scattered across Germany, France, Belgium, Poland and Austria.
During the beginning of the 21st century, the popularity of digital cameras made it much easier for beginning photographers to understand the complexities of photographing at night. Today, there are hundreds of websites dedicated to night photography..For a more complete history of night photography, refer to Lance Keimig's A History of Night Photography.

Subjects
Astronomical objects - moon, stars, planets, etc. See astrophotography. Streets, with or without cars Abandoned buildings and artificial structures lit only by moonlight City skylines Factories and industrial areas, particularly those that are brightly lit and emitting smoke or vapour Fireworks Nightlife or rock concerts Bodies of water (lakes, rivers, canals, etc) reflecting moonlight or city lights Thunderstorms Amusement rides

Technique and equipment
The length of a night exposure causes the lights on moving cars to streak across the image The following techniques and equipment are generally used in night photography. A tripod is usually necessary due to the long exposure times. Alternatively, the camera may be placed on a steady, flat object e.g a table or chair, low wall, window sill, etc. A shutter release cable or self timer is almost always used to prevent camera shake when the shutter is released.

Manual focus, since autofocus systems usually operate poorly in low light conditions. Newer digital cameras incorporate a Live View mode which often allows very accurate manual focusing.
Long exposure multiple flash photographic technique. The long exposure multiple flash technique is a method of night or low light photography which use a mobile flash unit to expose various parts of a building or interior using a long exposure time.

Long exposure means that the shutter of the camera is kept open for longer, allowing more light to be exposed to the images sensor or film of the camera. This causes the photograph to be lighter, and is good for night and dark photos. This technique is often combined with using coloured gels in front of the flash unit to provide different colours in order to illuminate the subject in different ways. It is also common to flash the unit several times during the exposure while swapping the colours of the gels around to mix colours on the final photo. This requires some skill and a lot of imagination since it is not possible to see how the effects will turn out until the exposure is complete. By using this technique, the photographer can illuminate specific parts of the subject in different colours creating shadows in ways which would not normally be possible.

-dari berbagai sumber-

READ MORE ...

the CAVE

A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. Some people suggest that the term cave should only apply to cavities that have some part that does not receive daylight; however, in popular usage, the term includes smaller spaces like sea caves, rock shelter, and grottos. Speleology is the science of exploration and study of all aspects of caves. Exploring a cave for recreation or science may be called caving, potholing, or occasionally (only in Canada and the United States), spelunking.

Types and formations
The formation and development of caves is known as spelegenesis. Caves are formed by various geologic processes. These may involve a combination of chemical processes, erosion from water, tectonic forces, microorganisms, pressure, atmospheric influences, and even digging.
Most caves are formed in limestone.
The largest and most abundant solutional caves are located in limestone. Limestone dissolves under the action of rainwater and groundwater charged with H2CO3 (carbon acid) and naturally occurringn organic acids. The dissolution process produces a distinctive landform known as karst, characterized by sinkholes, sinking, streams, and underground drainage. Limestone caves are often adorned with calcium carbonate formations produced through slow precipitation. This include: flowstones, stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, draperies, soda straws and columns. These secondary mineral deposits in caves are called speleothems.
The world's most spectacularly decorated cave is generally regarded to be Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico. Lechuguilla and nearby Carlsbad Caverns are now believed to be examples of another type of solutional cave. They were formed by H2S (hydrogen sulfide) gas rising from below, where reservoirs of oil give off sulfurous fumes. This gas mixes with ground water and forms H2SO4 (sulfuric acid). The acid then dissolves the limestone from below, rather than from above, by acidic water percolating from the surface.
Fracture caves are formed when layers of more soluble minerals, such as gypsum, dissolve out from between layers of less soluble rock. These rocks fracture and collapse in blocks.
Talus caves are the openings between rocks that have fallen down into a pile, often at the bases of cliffs. Anchihaline caves are caves, usually coastal, containing a mixture of freshwater and saline water (usually sea water). They occur in many parts of the world, and often contain highly specialized and endemic faunas.
Patterns
Branchwork caves resemble surface dentritic stream patterns; they are made up of passages that join downstream as tributaries. Branchwork caves are the most common of cave patterns and are formed near sinkholes where groundwater recharge occurs. Each passage or branch is fed by a separate recharge source and converges into other higher order branches downstream.
Angular Network caves form from intersecting fissures of carbonate rock that have had fractures widened by chemical erosion. These fractures form high, narrow, straight passages that persist in widespread closed loops Anastomotic caves largely resemble surface braided streams with their passages separating and then meeting further down drainage. They usually form along one bed or structure, and only rarely cross into upper or lower beds Spongework caves are formed as solution cavities are joined by mixing of chemically diverse water. The cavities form a pattern that is three-dimensional and random, resembling a sponge
Ramiform caves form as irregular large rooms, galleries, and passages. These randomized three-dimensional rooms form from a rising water table that erodes the carbonate rock with hydrogen-sulfide enriched water

Ecology
Townsend's Big-eared bats in a cave.Cave-inhabiting animals are often categorized as troglobites (cave-limited species), troglophiles (species that can live their entire lives in caves, but also occur in other environments), trogloxenes (species that use caves, but cannot complete their life cycle wholly in caves) and accidentals (animals not in one of the previous categories). Some authors use separate terminology for aquatic forms (e.g., stygobites, stygophiles, and stygoxenes).
Of these animals, the troglobites are perhaps the most unusual organisms. Troglobitic species often show a number of characteristics, termed troglomorphies, associated with their adaptation to subterranean life. These characteristics may include a loss of pigment (often resulting in a pale or white coloration), a loss of eyes (or at least of optical functionality), an elongation of appendages, and an enhancement of other senses (such as the ability to sense vibrations in water). Aquatic troglobites (or stygobites), such as the endangered Alabama cave shrimp, live in bodies of water found in caves and get nutrients from detritus washed into their caves and from the feces of bats and other cave inhabitants. Other aquatic troglobites include cave fish, the Olm, and cave salamanders such as the Texas Blind Salamander.
Cave insects such as Oligaphorura (formerly Archaphorura) schoetti are troglophiles, reaching 1.7 millimeters (0.067 in) in length. They have extensive distribution and have been studied fairly widely. Most specimens are female but a male specimen was collected from St Cuthberts Swallet in 1969.
Bats, such as the Gray bat and Mexican Free-tailed Bat, are trogloxenes and are often found in caves; they forage outside of the caves. Some species of cave crickets are classified as trogloxenes, because they roost in caves by day and forage above ground at night.
Because of the fragile nature of the cave ecosystem, and the fact that cave regions tend to be isolated from one another, caves harbor a number of endangered species, such as the Tooth cave spider, Liphistiidae Liphistius trapdoor spider, and the Gray bat. Caves are visited by many surface-living animals, including humans. These are usually relatively short-lived incursions, due to the lack of light and sustenance.


Archaeological and social importance
Taino petroglyphs in a cave in Puerto Rico Throughout history, primitive peoples have made use of caves for shelter, burial, or as religious sites. Since items placed in caves are protected from the climate and scavenging animals, this means caves are an archaeological treasure house for learning about these people. Cave paintings are of particular interest. One example is the Great Cave of Niah, in Malaysia, which contains evidence of human habitation dating back 40,000 years. In Germany some experts found signs of cannibalism in the caves at the Hönne.Caves are also important for geological research because they can reveal details of past climatic conditions in speleothems and sedimentary rock layers.Caves are frequently used today as sites for recreation. Caving, for example, is the popular sport of cave exploration. For the less adventurous, a number of the world's prettier and more accessible caves have been converted into show caves, where artificial lighting, floors, and other aids allow the casual visitor to experience the cave with minimal inconvenience. Caves have also been used for BASE jumping and cave diving.


rewrite from wikipedia and many publisher
for public

READ MORE ...

Tips Berjalan Di Gunung

Melakukan perjalanan di gunung pasti berbeda denga melakukan perjalanan ( berjalan )di jalan raya yang rata atau jalan – jalan di mall dengan menaiki elevator atau escalator.Berjalan di gunung kita akan melewati punggung gunung,memanjat tebing atau menuruni lembahyang dalam,disamping harus membawa beban ransel yang berisi makanan dan segala perlengkapanyang kita perlukan.Tentunya kita memerlukan stamina dan keahlian yang mendukung perjalanannya.
Nah, Apa saja sih yang kita ketahui sebagai seorang yang biasa berjalan di gunung atau disebut pendaki gunung? Mungkin Tips atau teknik ini dapat menambah wawasandan berguna bagi kita agar nyaman dan aman waktu melakukan perjalanan di gunung.
• Pertama yang kita perlu perhatikan sebelum melakukan perjalanan di gunung adalah sepatu,usahakan sepatu yang digunakan adalah sepatu trecking,dengan ukuran sepatu leih besar yang kita pakai sehari – hari.Misalnya ukuran sepatu kita 40,maka dianjurkan saat mendaki gunung kita memakai sepatu no 41,dengan memakai kaos kaki rangkap.Sebelum memakai kaos kaki pastikan kaki sudah kering benar, kalau tidak,di pastikan kaki anda akan bau tak sedap.
• Mulailah berjalan dengan langkah yang pendek ( kecil ),ini membuat nafas kita teratur sehingga akan menghemat tenaga.
• Makanlah sedikit garam untuk menghindarkan keram juga untuk mengganti hilangnya kadar garam dalam tubuh yang keluar lewat cucuran keringat.Waktu berjalan di gunung perhatikan betul (konsentrasi ) terhadap jalur yang kita lewati,pikiran jangan melayang kemana – mana.
• Jangan memotong jalur yang sudah ada kalau tidak mau kesasar.Karena secara ilmiah,jalur pendakian di gunung berkelok – kelok sehingga jika memotong jalur yang sudah ada biasanya akan lebih curam dan terjal yang berakibat tenaga akan terkuras.
• Hafalkan lintasan – intasan atau jalur yang dilewati,kenali tanda medan disekitarnya untuk mengantisipasi kalau pulang agar tidak tersesat.
• Jika terpaksa harus membuka jalur baru,mulailah dengan teliti dan hati – hati.Tentukan duou posisi kita di peta,lalu pastikan jalur yang akan diambil atau dibuka.
• Ingatlah untuk tidak berjaan jauh dari jalan setapak.Jika melalui daerah kawah,berhati – hatilah jangan sampai terkena gas beracun.Setelah berjalan selama satu jam, istirahatlah selama sekitar 10 menit untuk rileks sebentar.
• Pada waktu istirahat / berhenti,duduklah dengan posisi kaki diluruskandiatas badan kita dengan tujuan untuk mengembalikan aliran darah agar normal kembali.karena selama berjalan sebagian besar darah turun dan terpusat dikaki.Selain itu juga untuk menghindari kejang / keram pada kaki.
• Minumlah sedikit air hangat dan manis.Makanlah beberapa makanan ringan yang banyak mengandung kalori,misalnya coklat.kenapa kita harus minum minuman yang hangat,karena pada waktu kita berjalan tubuh kita kondisinya hangat / panas sehingga bila kita minum air dingin maka akan terjadi kontradiksi tubuh yang mencolok yang bisa mengakibatkan keinginan kencing tetapi sedikit – sedikit,yang tentunya akan mengganggu perjalanan.
• Jangan meminum minuman beralkohol yang seringkali dianggap dapat menghangatkan tubuh.minuman beralkohol dapat mengakibatkan pembuluh darah mengembang sehingga udara dingin memperoleh peluang untuk menyusup kedalam tubuh.Selain itu juga menyebabkan mabuk,bagaimana mau naik gunung kalau mabuk?
• Waktu beristirahat jangan terlalu lama,karena otot – otot yang sudah panas dan kencang akan menjadi dingin dan kendur sehingga memerlukan pemanasan kembali.
• Disamping memilih lokasi istirahat yang terlindung dari hembusan angin,pilihlah juga lokasi yang lebih tinggi,karena secara kejiwaan dengan melihat pemandangan yang indah akan sedikit mengobati rasa lelah kita.
Demikianlah sedikit tips cara berjalan atau mendaki gunung.Namun tentunya cara ini bukanlah satu patokan yang baku,yang bisa kita tambah dengan modifikasi yang disesuaikan dengan pengalaman kita.Selamat berjalan – jalan di gunung dan ingatlah selalu,jika kita berangkat dengan selamat maka kembalipun harus selamat pula.
Salam Rimba!!!!!

Daftar pustaka :
1. John Wiseman,The SAS Survival Hand Book,1986
2. Norman Edwin,Mendaki Gunung Sebuah Tantangan Petualangan,1987

READ MORE ...