Thirteen-Years Ago (24-January-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Winter Family Vacation. Day 4: Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald Norwegian Coastal Voyage Northbound (Florø to Kristandsund).

While the MS Kong Harald was docking in Torvik, I noticed a large heron like bird on a rock. I later identified it as a Grey Heron. It looks very similar to the Great Heron found in North America.

Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Alesund, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grey Heron in Torvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thirteen-Years Ago (24-January-2007) — At Sea, Norwegian Sea

Gone to See Norway 2007 Winter Family Vacation. Day 4: Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald Norwegian Coastal Voyage Northbound (Florø to Kristandsund).

Seabirds from the deck of the MS Kong Harald while traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. A Gull (not identified) in flight, and an European Shag taking off.

Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gull in flight from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag taking off viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag taking off viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag taking off viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag taking off viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag taking off viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag taking off viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag in flight viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag in flight viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag in flight viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
European Shag in flight viewed from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram traveling between Torvik and Ålesund. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thirteen-Years Ago (23-January-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Winter Vacation. Day 3: Bergen.

While on a walkabout in Bergen near the Kunstmuseum, I noticed a large crow like bird with a white underbelly. Later identified as an Eurasian Magpie. These are believed to be one of the most intelligent of non-human animals.

Eurasian Magpie. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Eurasian Magpie. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Eurasian Magpie. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Eurasian Magpie. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Eurasian Magpie. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Eurasian Magpie. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (11-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013. Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 14: Tromsø.

Wintertime walkabout in Tromsø, Norway. Random sights, ships and graffiti. Most in B&W. Images taken with a Leica X2 camera.

Roald Amundsen statue in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)
Roald Amundsen statue in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)
Lonely snow covered bench in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lonely snow covered bench in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)



Individual images in the slide shows can be viewed here.

Six-Years Ago (11-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013. Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 14: Tromsø.

As the wormhole began to open clouds appeared, reducing the intensity of the burning green rays. This provided some cover and protection for earthlings below….

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Northern Lights in Tromvik, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 1000, 16 mm, f/2.8, 15 sec). (David J Mathre)

After leaving the two French Photographers at the Ferry to take them to Finnsnes, I decided to spend the next three nights outside of Tromsø to maximize my chance of viewing and photographing the Northern Lights. There were at least 20 vendors offering trips in Tromsø specifically to view Northern Lights. The most famous one is booked a year in advance (after being featured on a BBC TV program for finding a place to view the Northern Lights when the BBC film crew all but struck out). I eliminated the big tour bus, dinner boat, and dog sled northern light tours, and selected 3 based on recommendations at the Tromsø tourist information center. I am glad that I stopped at the tourist information center when the northbound Hurtigruten voyage stopped in Tromsø as the tours do get booked and fill up in advance. They all claim to find somewhere that is clear with a good chance of seeing northern lights – whether it is along the coast, up a mountain, or all the way to Sweden or Finland. One even tells you to bring your passport along if they do cross the border.

The first trip was “Aurora Photo Tour with Professional Photographer” from Creative Vacations, led by Vidar Dons Lindrupsen. He picked a group of seven up in front of the Blu Radisson Hotel and brought us to his house. There we had a workshop on the basics for successfully capturing Aurora images with a digital camera. Vidar is fluent in several languages. Our group included folks from France, Germany, Brazil, Spain plus myself from the United States. For those that needed, he provided tripods and warm arctic outerwear as we were about to spend the next several hours outdoors photographing the Northern Lights. We stopped at several locations and I got some great images These were some of the best northern light displays that I had ever seen, but probably average for folks that live in this region. When the clouds started to come in and we only were getting diffuse images through the clouds, Vidar served some hot lentil soup — very welcome after standing for several hours in the cold.

First stop was to Ersfjord, Kvaløya (Whale Island). I used a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens. Other than some yellow (sodium) lights from a small village, the sky was very dark. Slide show, star trails, and a time-lapse video. We moved a bit and the band of green crossed the sky. I needed to switch to a wider angle lens — 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye. From the same location I also tried using the Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens to see how Northern Lights would be captured with a smaller digital sensor. The images were rather noisy and needed extra processing with Topaz Define 2. Switched back to the Nikon D800 camera with the 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens in portrait mode


alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Northern Lights. Chasing the Northern Lights. Ersfjord, Kvaløya (Whale Island). Composite of 148 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/1.4, 8 sec). (David J Mathre)



alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Star Trails. Chasing the Northern Lights. Ersfjord, Kvaløya (Whale Island). Composite of 23 images taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 1600, 16 mm, f/2.8, 15 sec). (David J Mathre)