Extraordinary Women Leaders in Speleology (EWLS)

Clint Farlinger uses his own special technique to brighten a scene and even out highlights and shadows is by adding artificial lighting. This technique is known as “painting with lights.” He uses a Lithium battery-powered flashlight to add light to dark areas by shining the flashlight in to areas that he wants to expose. Then, he keeps it moving all the time to avoid odd looking highlights. The composition featured here includes a large section of the caves required the light to be painted during the entire exposure. Other images may require just a little painting or none at all. SOURCES: Clint Farlinger, http://goo.gl/de90xh #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Holley Moyes explores caves and examines artifacts to understand the rituals of ancient people. By studying the artifacts left by ancient Mayans, anthropological archaeologist and assistant professor at the University of California at Merced, Moyes hopes to both preserve Mayan culture and discover stories of these ancient people. Moyes has spent the past 20 years exploring more than 100 caves in Belize, finding everything from tools to sacrificial remains to everyday pottery, to uncover how the Mayans' ideologies were created and maintained. Discovering the why behind ancient people's decision-making allows us to understand the implications of their decisions. One particular ritual Moyes focused on was why Mayans performed human sacrifices deep inside of caves. Though it's a developing theory, Moyes believes the Mayans cared deeply about rain (their lands were dry for many months of the year) and left increasingly large sacrifices to their god, Chac, to lif

Since 2012 EWLS has been working to change perceptions about women in science and especially speleology. Today we can say we are proud of this small victory! #ewls #womencavers #speleology

1.      Body: Remove any dust or dirt from the outside of the camera and lens by using a soft brush. 2.      Viewfinder: If you can remove the rubber viewfinder and the eye cup, gently brush off any dust. Then, use soft cloth or lense cleaning tissue to clean the glass carefully. 3.      Screen: Clean it using the same type of tissue or cloth as you would for the viewfinder. 4.      Lens/ Filter: Use a blower or a brush to remove any dirt or grit. Then, use a small amount of lense fluid to clean the tissue or cloth that is designed to clean the lenses. Gently wipe the surface of the remaining residue. Read More: http://goo.gl/onNw2z   #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Sarah Payne was one of 200 members in an expedition to capture the beauty of Gouffre Berger Cave in 2012. This 3,680-feet deep limestone cave in south eastern France was once dubbed 'world's deadliest. So far six people have died while exploring the Gouffre Berger. It was the first cave to be explored over 1,000 metres under the surface of the Earth and was named after the man who discovered it - Frenchman Joseph Berger in 1953. SOURCES www.dailymail.co.uk/news Image: Robert Shone #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Register Now: ewls.org/register-to-attend.html #AGCT2015 #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Check out these interesting stories of women and caves in lore from all over the world. For more great stories, check out our Pinterest page ! #ewls #womencavers #speleology Black Annis Stories of Black Annis, also referred to as Cat Anna and Black Agnes, is an old blue-faced woman with one eye who has scared children for hundreds of years as the bogeywoman of Leicester. She is believed to occupy a cave located on the face of Dane Hills. Legend states that she used her cave to hide from the sun, which is believed could turn her to stone. Her cave led to a tunnel that ran all the way to Leicester Castle where she is alleged to linger in the form of a ghost. In the woods she preys on children and brings them back at her cave to drink their blood and eat their flesh. Then, she hangs their skins to dry on the branches of the oak tree outside the cave entrance until she could sew the dried skins together to use as clothes and decorate the interior of her cave. 1 2

Register Now: ewls.org/register-to-attend.html #AGCT2015 #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Carol Zokaites, Virgina Department Conservation & Recreation as an Education Coordinator offers 40 years of caving experience in her book "Project Underground - A Natural Resource Guidebook" which offers insight and expert help for teaching children about caves. This resourse offers classroom activities and information designed to help instructors teach about caves and karst. It touches on their biological, geological, hydrological, and historical diversities and values. SOURCES http://bookstore.caves.org #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Kara Mickaelson is a very important contributor to many big projects with the Oregon High Desert Grotto. Many know her from her recent contributions to the Glacier Ice Caves project. What you might not know is Kara has so much more that she does behind the scenes including conservation, survey, and educational work. Kara is also a very talented photographer. #ewls #womencavers #speleology  www.ewls.org