February, 2018 - David Mathre Photography

Five-Years Ago (02-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013 Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 5: Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp Norwegian Coastal Voyage Northbound (Trondheim and Rørvik).

On the second full day of the northbound Hurtigruten voyage, the ship only stops in two ports: Trondheim (06:00-12:00) and Rørvik (20:30-21:15). Having six hours in Trondheim allowed us to spend some time to see the city. Our first stop was at Nidaros Cathedral. The exterior of the cathedral is a target rich environment for religious statues and gargoyles. But it was cold outside. The last time I was here in 2007 I said I would love to go back with a perspective control lens to record all sides of the exterior of the cathedral. Well, I didn’t bring that lens along, so had to do with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and an older 180 mm f/2.8 lens. It was cloudy and still relatively dark in the morning, so the images are noisy. The statues can be identified here. After leaving Trondheim, we passed the Kjeungskjær Lighthouse.

Lonely bench in the snow. Trondheim overlook. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 800, 10 mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)

Individual images from the slide show can be viewed here.

Kjeungskjær Lighthouse in Norway on a Cold Windy Rainy Winter Day from the Deck of the Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 180 mm f/2.8D lens (ISO 400, 180 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 sec).Kjeungskjær Lighthouse (David J Mathre)

Eleven-Years Ago (02-February-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Winter Vacation. Day 13: Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald Norwegian Coastal Voyage Southbound (Trondheim to Molde).

On the fifth day of the southbound Hurtigruten voyage the ship only made three stops: Trondheim (06:30-10:00); Kristiansund (16:30-17:00); and Molde (21:00-21:30). We were able to spend a couple of early morning hours in Trondheim. I wanted to get more images of the statues and gargoyles at the Nidaros Cathedral.

Individual images in the slide show can be viewed here.

Thursday (01-February-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Dawn Sky in New Jersey.

Somewhat of a repeat post from last Thursday (25-January-2018).

There were some subtle colors in the sky at dawn. I used a Leica T camera with a wide-angle zoom lens (11-23 mm). There is significant distortion when the lens is used at 11 mm. For comparison, the first horizontal image is at 11 mm, and the 2nd image is a composite of 5 vertical images at 18 mm.

Backyard Winter Dawn Sky in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm lens (ISO 200, 11 mm, f/4, 1/40 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)

Backyard Winter Dawn Sky in New Jersey. Composite of 5 images taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm lens (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/4.2, 1/40 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the panorama generated using AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)

View individual images from the slide-show here.

Five-Years Ago (01-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013 Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 4: Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp Norwegian Coastal Voyage Northbound (Florø to Kristandsund).

In addition to transporting passengers, the Hurtigruten ships carry freight, mail, automobiles, and fresh food between several ports along the Norwegian coast. Many of these stops occur during the night, and only last for short (15 minutes to 1 hour) periods of time. The schedule for the first full day of the northbound voyage stops at the following ports: Florø (04:30-04:45); Maløy (06:45-07:30); Torvik (10:20-10:45); Ålesund (12:00-15:00); Molde (17:30-18:30); Kristandsund (22:00-23:00).

We were able to spend a bit of time for a walkabout in Ålesund. It was snowing so I didn’t have a chance to climb Mount Aksla for a view of the harbor like I did in 2007. We did hear the drone in the sky that the German TV crew was using follow us as we walked through the city. I was surprised that they would fly it with limited visibility.

Cargo stop in Molde. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)

Individual images in the slide shows can be viewed here.

Eleven-Years Ago (01-February-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Winter Vacation. Day 12: Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald Norwegian Coastal Voyage Southbound (Bodø to Rørvik).

On the fourth day of the southbound Hurtigruten voyage the ship made six stops: Bodø (02:30-04:15); Ørnes (07:00-07:15); Nesna (11:00-11:15); Sandnessjøen (12:30-13:00); Brønnøysund (15:45-17:00); and Rørvik (20:30-21:30). None of the daytime stops were long enough to get off the ship. For half of the day we were still above the Arctic circle.

Winter dawn colors north of the arctic circle from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 70 mm, f/4.5, 1/80 sec). (David J Mathre)

Arctic Circle marker from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/4.5, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)