Another Set of Florida Pics

[ethan_brodsky]

I'm just back from a week of cave diving in Florida. We spent five days in Luraville, two in Marianna, and two surveying a spring in Alabama. This summer I purchased a housing for my camera - this was my first chance to use it in decent viz.

The camera is a Canon s410 in a Canon DC800 housing - it's another "$500 camera setup", although that is without an external flash. I was inspired by Chip's recent posting to upload some of my shots here. I hope you enjoy them...

It's amazing how much better it works in clear water, even with low light. For natural light photos, the exposure time is still fairly long (what do you except with a tiny sensor), but I could get good results by bracing the camera against rocks. Flash photos are better, but still aren't that great - the strobe is too close to the lens and I get tons of backscatter, except when I'm very close. Hopefully an external flash and/or wide-angle lens will solve this. The flash will let me work further away without backscatter, and the wide-angle lens will let me work closer without accidently "chopping off parts."

My buddy Paul Lothary is the subject is all of these photos, except for a few of the far-away silhouettes. The images were processed in Photoshop, using some degree of auto-contrast and auto-color and unsharp mask (typical settings 125%/1.0/3.0). I'm not totally happy with the results of the processing - I did it at work on a computer with a junky monitor and I think I overdid the sharpening a bit.

If anyone has experience using an external strobe or a wide-angle lens on one of the Canon Elph housings (DC-x00), I'd be interesting in hearing about it.

Finally, if you'd like to see the pictures all in one page, rather than clicking through them one at a time:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showgallery.php?si=&perpage=24&ppuser=197

Ethan Brodsky

Ginnie Springs:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3729.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3738.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3744.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3778.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3780.jpg

Peacock:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3949.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_3994.jpg

Twin Spring:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4044.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4073.jpg

Jackson Blue:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4107.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4115.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4137.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4147.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4149.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4155.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4168.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4175.jpg

Shangri la:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/504/197img_4284.jpg

Critters:
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/523/197img_4223.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/523/197img_4224.jpg

Busted Trailer Tongue: (6:30 AM the morning after Thanksgiving, on I-75 near Corbin, Kentucky)
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/500/197img_3683.jpg
http://cavediver.net/photopost/data/500/197img_3684.jpg

For those of you curious about the trailer pics, it was 6:30 AM the morning after Thanskgiving and I had just pulled onto the I-75S exit 25 offramp, downshifted and was braking when I heard a grinding noise. Looked in the side mirror and I could see sparks shooting out all over behind the truck. Pulled over, figuring the ball had popped off. Not so - the tongue had failed. Called my dad on my cell phone (at 5:30 AM Madison time) and had him look up nearby welding shops. Fortunately, there was one only 2 miles away. We moved everything in the trailer to a position directly over the axle, disassembled the trailer jack, and used the trailer jack clamp to hold the tongue straight while we drove very slowly into town. Dropped it off at Owens Auto Repair and Truck Service and they were finished rewelding it when we got done with breakfast. It ended up costing $47 and about three hours of our time. I'm just glad that it didn't separate entirely - that could've been catastrophic. I think the repair is pretty good, but we'll still take it back to the manufacturer and see if they'll replace the tongue (or trailer), since there is absolutely no excuse for a failure like that on a 2 year old trailer. There was quite a bit of rust on the edges where it failed, so I'm guessing it was a fatigue failure and it had been coming apart for a long time.

[raydean]

Great pics, Ethan! I particularly liked the silhouette in Peacock.

Nice pictures Ethan! Thanks for sharing them with us. I hope someone has some answers for you. You might also want to check with the manufacture.

[ethan_brodsky]

I was going through my photos and found a few more I liked. I'm not sure if Ginnie was exceptionally clear or if I was just getting really close, but I managed to get a lot of good photos in one dive.

#1: http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2462
#2: http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2461
#3: http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2460

I think the middle photo is especially amusing...

Ethan

[Widiver_Paul]

I'll throw this on here for Tami from the same trip, this one is me and Ethan and Jackson Blue- All rights reserved, Tamara Thomsen 2004

http://www.wiscuba.com/yabbse/attachments/Jackson_Blue_2.jpg

[Widiver_Paul]

All rights reserved, copyright 2004 Tamara Thomsen

this one Billy G in Shangri-La. Notice the graffiti in the wall on the left.

http://www.wiscuba.com/yabbse/attachments/Shangri-La_BillyG.jpg

[Herbie]

Nice pics fellas , keep it up. Take care. :-D

[caver]

All rights reserved, copyright 2004 Tamara Thomsen

this one Billy G in Hole in the Wall. Notice the graffiti in the wall on the left.

http://www.wiscuba.com/yabbse/attachments/Hole_in_the_Wall-BillyG.jpgIt has been a while that I was there, but seeing the cement block, are you sure that wasn't Shangra La. Sure looks like it. I remember alot of blocks from the old dock. I may be wrong, but may be right (Billy Joel)

[FW]

I'm just back from a week of cave diving in Florida. We spent five days in Luraville, two in Marianna, and two surveying a spring in Alabama.

Which spring in Alabama?

[DeWayne]

I'm just back from a week of cave diving in Florida. We spent five days in Luraville, two in Marianna, and two surveying a spring in Alabama.

Which spring in Alabama?

Inquiring minds want to know 8)

[normblitch]

If anyone has experience using an external strobe or a wide-angle lens on one of the Canon Elph housings (DC-x00), I'd be interesting in hearing about it.

Ethan,

You have REALLY done some fine work here; having done it with available light and/or internal strobe makes it even more laudible!

Here is a link for Ike's digi stuff for Canon's ...
http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/opt10dlx.html

I don't know if this stuff is applicable to the Elf; I'm an OLY (C-5050) guy...
I see that you are using PS for post-process...contact me by PM and I can ship you a underwater action I use from time to time to counter excess blue or green in available light sitches...

Again, WONDERFUL Work!

Norm
http://www.pbase.com/eanx/diving

[ethan_brodsky]

If anyone has experience using an external strobe or a wide-angle lens on one of the Canon Elph housings (DC-x00), I'd be interesting in hearing about it.
Ethan,
You have REALLY done some fine work here; having done it with available light and/or internal strobe makes it even more laudible!
...
Again, WONDERFUL Work!
Norm


Thank you! I've had the camera since July and have used it in Lake Michigan and local lakes a few times, but it was really fun to actually get some decent photos. I've found that I can only get good results with the flash if I am really close - so close that it's hard to get an entire body in the frame. But I really like natural light, so I've had fun shooting in the cavern.

In case there is any confusion, I'd like to point out again that the last two photos (posted directly in this thread by Paul) were taken by Tami Thomsen with her housed Nikon D100 (the first time she'd taken it cave diving). Only the photos posted in my gallery were taken with the s410.

I'll PM you to get your Photoshop strategy.

My camera uses a preflash for automatic exposure control, so that significantly narrows down my flash options. I need a flash that can either ignore the preflash (which messes up the camera's automatic exposure control) or that can fire twice in rapid succession. Most of the cheaper strobes cannot easily be used with preflash cameras. The Ikelight DS-50 looks like it should work with my setup, though it would require Ikelight's "Manual Controller".

I've got a few more photos posted here - dry caving, wreck diving, and fishies:
http://www.wiscuba.com/yabbse/index.php?board=17;action=display;threadid=481

So far, the options I've found come down to:

Sea and Sea YS-25
http://www.seaandsea.com/YS25DX.html
~$265 kit price, $200 slave only
slave only, ignores preflash, manual power adjustment dial

Sea and Sea YS-15 (added Jan 18, 2005)

Sunpak G-Flash (added Jan 18, 2005)
http://www.underwaterphotography.com/Store/App/F.asp?STR=SU067G
slave only, ignores preflash, manual power adjustment dial
$199 kit price

Sea and Sea YS-90
http://www.seaandsea.com/YS90.html
~$600 kit price, $500 bare strobe
slave or corded TTL, ignores preflash, manual power adjustment dial
15 oz land

Epoque ES-150 DS
http://www.marinecamera.com/ep_150ds.html
~$350 kit price, $215 bare strobe
slave only, ignores preflash

Ikelite DS-50
http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/substrobe_dig50.html
requires "manual flash controller"
~$500 kit price (including manual flash controller)
slave or corded TTL, manual power adjustment dial
ignores preflash (I think)

Inon D-180
~$500 kit price, $400 street price
http://www.inonamerica.com/products.html?product_id=7&prodcat=1&subcat=1
slave only, manual power adjustment dial
Fires on preflash and main flash, so camera's automatic exposure control works!

Inon D-2000 (new)
~$500 kit price
http://www.inonamerica.com/products.html?product_id=233&prodcat=1&subcat=1
slave, TTL, manual, or auto
Fires on preflash and main flash, so camera's automatic exposure control works!

Sealife SL960D (Added Jan 18, 2005)
~$300 kit price
http://www.sealife-cameras.com/accessories/sl960d.html
slave only, ignores preflash, manual power adjustment dial

Though all of these would work adequately, I've been obsessed with the Inon strobes for the last few months. Since they fire for the preflash as well as the main flash, the camera's automatic exposure control works correctly. With any of the other flashes, the camera sees almost no light from the internal preflash during the exposure calibration, picks f/2.8, then gets blown away when the external strobe fires. So you end up having to turn the main flash way down in order to get good photos. With the Inon, the external strobe fires briefly during the preflash, allowing the camera to properly calibrate the exposure settings. But I find it hard to justify buying a $300-500 flash to use on a $300 camera in a $150 housing. I'd be better off buying a camera that supports real manual modes. I'm hoping that the introduction of the D-2000 will drive down prices on the D-180, but I don't think it will happen that quickly.

Ethan

[FW]

Ethan, you have a PM.

[ethan_brodsky]

I'm just back from a week of cave diving in Florida. We spent five days in Luraville, two in Marianna, and two surveying a spring in Alabama.

Which spring in Alabama?

Inquiring minds want to know 8)

Hehehe - it's not a big secret...

Blue Spring in Blue Spring State Park, in Clio, AL. Here's some photos - I don't have all of them right now, but I should get them tonight. Surface photos were taken by myself or W. Paul Lothary, and underwater photos were taken by Tamara Thomsen.

http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2514
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2515
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2516
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2517
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2518
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2519

The cavern slopes down at a ~30 degree angle, to a depth of about 45 feet at a penetration of about 80 feet. At the back, there is a cave lead coming off - Tami pushed it another 50 feet or so, but it is low, silty, prone to collapse, and most likely dead-ends. The entire system is sidemount only, with heights mostly in the 2-5 feet range, except a room at the base of the cavern that is about 10 feet high. The floor and ceiling are mostly composed of a dense clay-like material - it looks like rock, but it's mushy and breaks off in clods when you touch it. It's inhabited by two orange Koi-fish and a freshwater eel. If anyone wants to go, it's open to cave divers (park admission is $3, if I remember correctly) - find park manager Scott Liles and show him your cave card. There's not much to see, but it's still a fun little dive.

We've finished surveyed it and Tami is currently working on drawing a map. The map should be done in the next month. I'm also working on an article about the project - it'll either go online or perhapsI'll submit it to UWS.

Tami has some more good pictures (cavern shots looking out), but I'm at work right now and don't have access to them. I'll post them as soon as I get them (later this afternoon, or perhaps tonight).

Ethan

[DeWayne]

Yeah, I know where that one is. Went there about a year ago, not much to see even in sm. Would be really nice if there was more to it as it is just down the road a piece from me.

Several years ago someone on the Forum took a survey of how many caves, and in how many states, Forum users had dived. When I mentioned that I had dived one in Alabama, everyone was curious as to where there was a divable cave in Alabama.

Well, this was it. As Forrest stated, there's not much to see, but it's still a fun little dive. Especially the looks you get from the locals when you go underwater, disappear, and then surface an hour later!

Russell

[Widiver_Paul]

Blue Spring scared the crap out of me when I realised that I could be part of the big breakdown pile in seconds- I went around the ceiling and with a pinky finger could pick off large flakes of this brown clay in sizes 1-2' in diameter. The whole ceiling could come down just by percolation, there's a layer of limestone, but that's way down 2' off the floor at max depth (47'). There's tunnel but the composition creates siltout thicker than anything i've ever seen. I could imagine my dive buddies trying to find me but only finding my line going into a big pile of mud. Tami's hardcore but even she doesn't want to go back. Me neither. We surveyed it, i'll be curious to go back in a few years and see how much big breakage came down.

I wouldn't surprised to see it sealed like a sarcophagus, wouldn't want to be in it when it goes.

[ethan_brodsky]

Here's some more photos from Blue Spring in Clio.

All underwater photography is by Tamara Thomsen. Surface photos were taken by Ethan Brodsky, W. Paul Lothary, or Tamara Thomsen.

http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2521
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2522
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2523
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2524
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2525
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2526
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2527
http://cavediver.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2528

[FW]

Thanks Ethan, great pictures.

[BillGraham]

That photo is definitely Shangri-la. I remember because a few minutes later we went down the hole in the floor and I spent the rest of the dive watching the other Bill G's fintips as he tried to cram himself in further, and then got myself stuck halfway through the wrong hole on the way back out as he cackled below me.

[BillGraham]

Ethan, the sillouette shots in the entrance to JB are great. I'm still looking at all of the photos from that trip and I hope your little camera survives its latest mishap because it really takes fantastic shots.