There were 13 entries in this year’s salon, of which 8 were accepted for exhibition:

Heaven and Earth   by Philippe Crochet  BEST OF SHOW  Duration: 9:00
A young woman, a nature lover, discovers the underground world. In spite of her reluctance to give up the sunshine and bright colors of the outside world, the charm of caves little by little grows on her. Of course it is not revealed to her so easily, but she finally realizes that minerals contain the colors of life. When she discoveres that even the blue sky is contained in formations, she definitely gives in to the attraction of the underground world and ends up wondering whether the vegetable kingdom did not copy from the mineral one.

CaveArt  by Anja Crommelynck & David DeRoest   SECOND PLACE  & MERIT AWARD
A photo presentation of a series of underground art expositions and their “making of.” The art project brings together two extremes: the dark, humid and rough cave environment where cavers engage in physical effot and climbing, and the abstract dreamworld of visual arts. The works of art challenge their surroundings.

Star of Darkness  by Philippe Crochet   THIRD PLACE & MERIT AWARD
A stalactite grows up and makes herself pretty in her dark home in a cave. She seduces both caves and photographers and she secretly dreams of success and glory. But one day, an unsavory character takes her away with him. This metaphor on the price of fame also deals with the problem of cave protection.

Amazing Caves   by Paul Fretwell FOURTH PLACE & MERIT AWARD [View it on YouTube]
A presentation on the amazing world of caves, showing a variety of cave formations, passages, chambers, and caving activity.  Uses still images animated with pans, zooms, and transitions to an audio track that Paul composed especially for it.   

Great Cave of the Xe Bang Fai  by Dave Bunnell  FIFTH PLACE  & HONORABLE MENTION
In eastern Laos, the Xe Bang Fai  river travels 6 km through one of the world’s largest cave passages. In 2008 an expedition of Canadian and American cavers mapped and photographed this amazing cave. The show gives a short taste of Lao culture set to Lao folk music and then shows a through trip of the great cave.
       
Error of Youth   by Philippe Crochet  SIXTH PLACE & HONORABLE MENTION
At one time God was bored and decided to create the universe. He started with a rough wild and inhabited Earth, and that was fine. Then he added life under its infinite forms, and that was a success. But at the last minute, he created a weak biped who turned out to be a real nuisance. This story of Go and Man makes us travel through gorgeous landscapes, from mountains to caves.
   
Sima de la Cornisa      by David DeRoest SEVENTH PLACE  ACCEPTED
Sima de la Cornisa is a cave situated in the Picos de Europa (Spain). In 2007 we reached a depth of 1507m, making it one of the 10 deepest caves in the world. The contrasts that are already typical for caving are illustrated in this presentation. Living during several weeks in uncomfortable circumstances, both above ground and in the cave, is typical for this expedition, where the “first man on the moon” feeling is never far away.

Mammoth Cave…A Place to Explore by Peter & Ann Bosted  EIGHTH PLACE ACCEPTED
Image show set to music of Kunio Kido (“Sounds of the Earth”) from Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Judges:
Hazel Barton (Kentucky, USA)
Chris Howes (Abergavenny, UK)
John Lovaas (Illinois, USA)
Bill Papke (California, USA)
Phill Round (Auckland, New Zealand)
Urs Widmer (Basel, Switzerland)