December, 2010 - David Mathre Photography

Friday (31-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 5: Estancia Helsingfors, Equitrecking, then Travel to Hosteria El Pilar just outside of El Chalten.

We started the day riding horses on a trail to an alpine lake. Most of the group chose to ride the horses, even though many of us had not been on a horse for many years. The horses brought us to a point near the end of the trail which we needed to complete on foot. Our gaucho took an image of me riding the trail with my Leica V-Lux 20 point & shoot camera. One thing that all of us on the horses learned was the need to apply sunscreen to the tops of our hands, which were all sun-burned by the end of the trip. That afternoon after getting back to Helsingfors, we checked out and took the bus to Hosteria El Pilar just outside of El Chalten. This location is much closer to Fitzroy. So far the weather on the trip has been unusually clear for Patagonia. Note that I don’t like the color profile for these out-of-the-camera jpg images.

Equitrecking at Estancia Helsingfors. (David J Mathre)

Turquoise Lake Panorama. Equitrecking and Hike Destination Estancia Helsingfors, Glacier National Park. (David J Mathre)

Thursday (30-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 4: Estancia Helsingfors.

This was our first full day at Helsingfors. We started out by getting up early (before sunrise) to see if Fitzroy would be visible, and if there would be any interesting colors. Since this is summer in the southern hemisphere – getting up early means before 4:30 AM. Helsingfors is right on Lago Viedma so we didn’t have to walk far. Fitzroy presents a side view from Helsingfors, and can potentially be seen lit up both at sunrise and sunset. This morning it was not very visible being hidden behind clouds. I did get a panorama of the mountain right across the lake. Later, when it was light I took some images of Lupines with the lake and the mountains to the north. Before lunch, the group worked on techniques for taking images of Horses. A local Gaucho rounded up a small herd of horses and we got to photograph them in the corral, running in a field, and crossing a small stream. In the afternoon, the group went on its first short hike to a point just beyond the Helsingfors property in the National Park. On the way I found a small waterfall and spent some time with Thom working out how to best capture the image. The wind was very strong at the point. Coming back from the hike we found many examples of the local Green Orchid, which we tried to capture with macro lenses. The sun doesn’t go down until late, and it is after 10 PM when we are trying to capture some images of Fitzroy lit up as the sun goes down. All in all, a very long day but well worth every minute.

Sunrise Panorama across Lago Viedma from Estancia Helsingfors. Composite of 7 images taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens. (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (29-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 3: Buenos Aires to Estancia Helsingfors.

We flew from Buenos Aires to El Calafete, where we met up with our driver Martin and his bus. The bus is our mode of transportation for the rest of the workshop. Martin drove us to Estancia Helsingfors, which is in the western region of Glaciers National Park along Lake Viedma. Helsingfors was built as a sheep ranch in 1906 by the Finnish Pioneer Alfred Ramstrom. We stay at Helsingfors four nights. On the drive from El Calafete to Helsingfors we stopped to several times to photograph the lake and wildlife. I’ve included images of the Southern Crested Caracara and Piche (the local armadillo).

Thom Hogan Checking Out the Lenticular Clouds in Patagonia. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/11, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre) — Thom Hogan Checking Out the Lenticular Clouds in Patagonia. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/11, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre)

Carancho (Southern Crested Caracara - Caracara Plancus) at a rest area along the southern edge of Lago Viedma, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/11, 1/640 sec.) (David J Mathre) — Carancho (Southern Crested Caracara – Caracara Plancus) at a rest area along the southern edge of Lago Viedma, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/11, 1/640 sec.) (David J Mathre)

Piche (Armadillo) at a rest area along the southern edge of Lago Viedma, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/11, 1/640 sec.) (David J Mathre) — Piche (Armadillo) at a rest area along the southern edge of Lago Viedma, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/11, 1/640 sec.) (David J Mathre)

Thom and Thomas Discussing the Photography of Wind Blown Trees in Patagonia. Estancia Helsingfors in Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-35 mm f/4 lens (ISO 125, 26 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Thom and Thomas Discussing the Photography of Wind Blown Trees in Patagonia. Estancia Helsingfors in Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 16-35 mm f/4 lens (ISO 125, 26 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (28-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 2: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

We began the day with a continuation of the intense foundation of photographic principles lecture by Thom. We then got on a Mercedes bus (similar frame and engine as my Roadtrek RV) to spend a couple of hours in the very colorful La Boca (read — a target rich environment to begin the hands on part of the workshop. I have included a couple of example images from this location. [Note, I will not have much time while on the workshop to process/edit the images. I am also not sure if we will have internet access in some of the location we will be visiting.] Following La Boca, we took the bus to the world-famous Recoleta Cemetery. On the way to Recoleta, we picked up Anthony Medici (Thom’s assistant) who had missed his original flight due to all of the snow in the Northeast. We spent 3+ hours taking images in the cemetery. Thom was helping, and challenging us to use the principles he had introduced during the two lectures. Tomorrow is a travel day to Helsingfors Estancia in the western region of Glacier National Park (the one in Argentina, not the United States).

La Boca district in Buenos Aires. Image taken with a D3s and 16-35 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 30 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre) — Girls playing Football (Soccer) in the La Boca district of Buenos Aires. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 16-35 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 30 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre)

Monday (27-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 1: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Since it is summer in the southern hemisphere, the sun rises very early. I went to “Parque Natural Y Reserva Ecologica Costanera Sur” to take some bird pictures. Unlike yesterday when the path through the park was open, this morning it was closed. The sign at the gate said the park was open at 8:00 AM November to March. When I asked someone at the gate all he answered was mañana (tomorrow). I guess the park is closed on Monday. Since the workshop doesn’t start until later today I continued my walking tour of the city. Even though it was morning, it was still very hot. Later in the afternoon, we had a walking tour of the city led by Fredrico from Wanderlust Expediciones. Thom then started the official part of the workshop with an intense lecture. The group had dinner at a local restaurant (lots of beef — this is Argentina).

Estacion Retiron during a morning walk in Buenos Aires. Images taken with a Leica V-Lux 20 camera (ISO 125, 5.7 mm, f/4. 1/500 sec) (David J Mathre)