Saturday (18-November-2017) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey: Colorful Clouds at Dawn.

I looked outside just after waking up to see the eastern sky starting to explode with colors. I ran outside with the first camera I could find with a wide-angle lens to capture the moment. The display didn’t last that long. I was so absorbed viewing the display, and taking pictures that I didn’t notice that an inquisitive young doe walked right up to me. When I finally noticed the deer, I think I was more startled than she was.

Colorful Clouds at Dawn Panorama. Composite of seven images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16 mm f1.4 lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/4, 1/30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Colorful Clouds at Dawn Panorama. Composite of seven images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16 mm f1.4 lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/4, 1/30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Colorful Clouds at Dawn. Composite of three images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16 mm f1.4 lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/6.4). (David J Mathre)
Colorful Clouds at Dawn. Composite of three images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16 mm f1.4 lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/6.4). (David J Mathre)


Inquisitive Doe at Dawn. Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/5.6, 1/6 sec). (David J Mathre)
Inquisitive Doe at Dawn. Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/5.6, 1/6 sec). (David J Mathre)

Ten-Years Ago (18-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 1: Kailua Kona.

Ten years ago, I arrived in Hawaii to attend a photography workshop with Thom Hogan. It was hard to believe the day before I was in Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in northern Colorado. At that time, I had only been taking pictures with a DSLR camera for just over one year. Soon after getting the camera, I found Thom’s web site which became a very helpful resource as I was learning to use the camera (much more useful than the Nikon manual provided with the camera). I purchased his guides for the D200 (and subsequently the guides for all of the new Nikon cameras I have used. These guides are by far the best resource for understanding the capabilities of the Nikon digital cameras. I saw a note in Thom’s web site that there was a late opening for his Hawaii workshop over Thanksgiving week. I signed up right away since I knew that there was a lot more that I needed to learn to become a better photographer. The first evening in Hawaii, we went down to the beach for sunset. I took these two pictures of boats with the sun setting behind them. Little did I know, it would become a contest between some friends on a Semester at Sea voyage to get images of boats or ships in front of the setting sun.

Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Day 1 of Thom Hogan's 2007 Hawaii Photography Workshop. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset of Kailua Harbor from Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Day 1 of Thom Hogan's 2007 Hawaii Photography Workshop. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm DX lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/9, HDR 9 images 1/800 to 1/20 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset at Kailua Harbor from Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii.  Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm DX lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/9, HDR 9 images 1/800 to 1/20 sec). (David J Mathre)