October, 2018 - David Mathre Photography

Wednesday (17-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 3: Lisbon, Portugal.

Left foot still hurting. I was up several times during the night, finally just stayed up and selected and processed images for the day’s classroom review. Breakfast at 07:00, which I recorded with the Garmin VIRB-360 camera. I’m getting used to the runny scrambled eggs.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of Breakfast at the Bessa Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

We spent the morning traveling on the Metro to practice Speed Shooting. We stopped at several stops on the Blue and Yellow lines. I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera on a short pole attached to my backpack. For my street shooting I chose the Nikon D850 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens, mainly because we would be riding the subway and potentially in close contact with potential subjects. While stopped at one of the stations, a Poliza officer approached and told me I was not allowed to take pictures of people. The officer let me take his picture standing next to Steve after discussing our project.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of Metro Stop Speed Shooting. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Statue in the Subway Station. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Poliza & Steve Discussing Street Photography in Lisbon. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE) — Poliza Officer & Steve Discussing Street Photography in Lisbon. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

After the last stop we dispersed with the assignment to walk back to the hotel for the afternoon image review and classroom session. I made a wrong turn, so just followed a main road down until I reached the Tagus river. I was almost at the place where we docked on the MV Explorer when I visited Lisbon four years earlier with Semester at Sea. At that point still a long walk back to the hotel. I was exhausted, and my left foot was really hurting. For the remainder of the walk back, I set the camera to do interval shooting while resting it on my arm. I found a couple of building murals near the Time-Out market that I want to see again. Just before getting back to the hotel, a group of preschool or kindergarten kids dressed in uniforms were leaving Cinemateca Júnior. I just stood still and let the camera click every 5 seconds.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the Walkabout back to the Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.

Lessons learned for the day include the Nikon D850 camera needs better hand-holding techniques, a tripod, or very fast shutter speeds — even with the wide-angle fisheye lens. I bailed on the afternoon and evening shooting to rest my foot with an ice pack.

Tuesday (16-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 2: Lisbon, Portugal.

I slept well after the Portuguese Bacalhau dinner last night. It was a bit salty, so I drank a lot of water. I woke up early (04:00) to select and process images for the afternoon image review session. This morning only my left big toe was sore but the foot was still swollen so it was difficult getting my walking boots on. The sky was overcast so I didn’t go out to shoot sunrise. I recorded breakfast using the Garmin VIRB-360 camera. This time with three of the other workshop folks.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of Breakfast at the Bessa Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

The first photography activity for the morning was a tour of Lisbon in Tut-Tut vehicles. My sore foot was happy that I wouldn’t be walking right away. I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera on the Tut-Tut vehicle. I chose to use the Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens for street photography while riding the Tut-Tut to give some reach. My best shot during the ride was the inspection of a Police Guard in formal uniform.

Police Guard Inspection. Morning tut-tu ride. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of Tut-Tut Tour of Lisbon. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

We were dropped off in the Castelo district of Lisbon. I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera on a shout pole mounted on my backpack. Before going on a walkabout, I took a series of images for rooftop panoramas overlooking the Alfama district with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. We then wandered around the area before heading to the castle (Castelo de S. Jorge). Afterwards we walked back to the hotel for lunch and our second classroom/image review session. Fortunately, there were a couple of elevators to bring us down to sea level. My left foot hurt, and I was barely able to keep up with the group.

Morning Panorama Over Lisbon. Composite of 10 images taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite generated with AutoPano Giga. (David J Mathre)

Morning Panorama Over Lisbon. Composite of 17 images taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite generated with AutoPano Giga. (David J Mathre)

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the Morning Photo Walkabout. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

After the class we went out for an afternoon walkabout through Mouraria (old Lisbon). The area includes a large population of immigrants. Even though I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera, I forgot to confirm that it started shooting. Now on my checkoff list — watch that the light on the camera starts to flash (two green, then one red). Since my foot hurt, I traveled light with only the Nikon 1 V3 camera and 10-30 mm lens. At one point I sat down on a bench to rest my foot, and just watched the local residents. On the walk back to the hotel I switched to the 70-300 mm lens to get some pictures of seagulls on statues/monuments and then of some kids on skateboards doing tricks.

Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed/purchased here.

Monday (15-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 1: Lisbon, Portugal.

I didn’t sleep well, as my two big toes were still sore after yesterday’s long walks. Yesterday I wasn’t wearing my walking boots, but rather the easy on/off shoes I wear when flying. That was a mistake. Finally, I just got up and worked on some images until going down for breakfast at 07:00. I used the Garmin VIRB-360 camera to record images for a time-lapsed video.

Tunnel View and Little Planet View of Breakfast at the Bessa Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

I didn’t go out for sunrise due to clouds and light rain. I also wanted to rest my feet some more. A little before noon, I went out to get some fresh fruit and a sandwich for lunch. It stopped raining and the sky was partly cloudy. I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera on a short pole strapped to my backpack. That worked. With the little planet view the camera appears to be floating above me and behind my head with a 360 degree view of my surroundings.

Little Planet View of a Walk to Pick Up a Sandwich before Class. Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Steve reserved a conference room a the hotel for our classroom and image review sessions. During our first classroom session the workshop participants met and showed examples of our work. We also got a schedule for the week with the proposed street photography shooting locations. After the classroom session, we went out on our first photo walk. I set up the Garmin VIRB-360 camera in my backpack to record the walk. I chose to use my Leica CL camera with a 23 mm f/2 lens for my street photography. I set the camera to record and view the jpg images in B&W for this assignment. The raw (DNG) images would still be in color. We started out going down toward the river from the hotel. We soon broke up so we wouldn’t all be photographing the same thing and looking like a horde of paparazzi scaring people away. In this area of the city there are locals, and lots of daily tourists that arrive on busses from the cruise ships. Soon after we split up, it started raining. I stood under a shop awning and used the even lighting to capture moving bicycles, trams, and motorcycles. My two favorite images were abstract art in the hotel lobby before we started, and a couple under an umbrella.

Abstract Art in the Lobby of the Bessa Hotel. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)

Rainy day discussion out on the street under an Umbrella in Lisbon. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre) — Rainy Day Discussion Under an Umbrella in Lisbon. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)

Individual images in the slideshows can be viewed here.

Little Planet View of the Afternoon Street Photography Walkabout. Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

The group got together for a traditional Portuguese dinner of Bacalhau (dried and salted cod). I’ve seen the cod drying on racks out in the open while visiting Norway. The salted and dried cod can be stored for years, and is one of the foods that the Portuguese used in their sailing ships while exploring the world. It is also common in Brazil and parts of Africa. The Bacalhau needs to be soaked in water for a long time before it is cooked. The Bacalhau we had at the restaurant was still a bit salty, but an excellent meal.

Tunnel View and Little Planet View of Bacalhau for Dinner. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

360 Degree Panorama View of Bacalhau for Dinner. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Sunday (14-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 0: Lisbon, Portugal.

The TAP flight from Newark arrived in Lisbon early, before 05:00. Lisbon is one of the airports where international passengers deplane outdoors, and then bussed to the terminal. We climbed the stairs in the terminal as the escalators were not running yet, then waited for the customs & immigration folks to set up for the morning. Other than some homeless folks sleeping on the benches, the airport terminal was deserted. I took a taxi from the airport to the Bessa Hotel. It was still dark out as the sun wouldn’t rise until 07:44. The air was clear and cool. The driver told me that they had a bit of wind and rain from Hurricane Leslie the day before — but no real damage in Lisbon. Apparently, the storm hit further up the coast. The hotel didn’t have a room ready, but did allow me to check in early and leave my luggage, computer, and camera bag in a locked room. I had a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant (opened at 07:00). Other than the scrambled eggs being undercooked and watery the breakfast was good, especially the selection of fresh fruit. I ate fast since I wanted to get to the Tagus river to catch sunrise. I took my Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens for my morning walkabout. I’ve visited Lisbon twice before while on Semester at Sea voyages, so had some memory of the city layout. I arrived at the Tagus river near the twin columns (Cais das Colunas) at one of the large squares (Praça do Comércio) just in time for sunrise. For an early Sunday morning a lot of activity was going on in the square. TV crews setting up cameras, city workers picking up trash and cleaning the streets, and construction workers setting something up for a large crowd. Then I remembered that the taxi driver said the Lisbon Marathon was happening today with the finish line in the square. During an earlier visit to Lisbon I remembered the square set up with a large video screen for a crowd to watch World Cup playoffs. I walked along the river down to where the Semester at Sea MV Explorer docked during my previous visit. I got there too late to see the Lux nightclub close, but saw lots of bottles and glasses from the previous nights party on the street. I returned to the hotel just as Steve Simon arrived from the airport. While waiting for our rooms we went to a local Starbucks for coffee. Steve seems to know the location of Starbucks in any city. I walked around a bit more and when I returned to the hotel my room was ready. I unpacked, and downloaded the mornings images before going out again. This time with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera mounted on my walking stick. I walked part of the marathon route watching the runners and later on the slower walkers pass down the road. I picked up some fresh fruit and a sandwich for lunch. By this time my feet were sore from all the walking and the jet lag caught up with me. I took a short nap, then joined Steve and Don for dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. I used the Garmin VIRB-360 camera to capture images for a “little planet” and “inverse little planet/tunnel view” time-lapse video of the dinner.

Individual Images from the slideshows can be viewed here.

Afternoon Walkabout in Lisbon during the Marathon. Little-planet time-lapse video (Garmin VIRB-360).

Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Little planet and Tunnel View time-lapse video (Garmin VIRB-360)

Saturday (13-October-2018) — New Jersey to Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day -1: Travel to Portugal.

I took a red-eye flight from Newark to Lisbon on TAP (Portugal Airlines). The “fast track” pre-boarding security lines at Newark terminal B were not open, so I had to remove my shoes, put each computer, notepad, and phone in separate trays. I also had to remove all the cameras from my camera bag. This is the third time this year that the “fast track” lanes at Newark were not staffed. TAP uses the SAS lounge in Newark. Good Nordic snacks before the flight. The TAP flight left a bit after the scheduled departure time, but still arrived in Lisbon almost an hour before the scheduled arrival time. The dinner served by TAP was excellent. The only time I have had airline food this good before was while traveling Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic (back in the days I was commuting to Cambridge, UK while working on a chemical automation project). After dinner, and most passengers fell asleep the cabin was dark enough that I could see the Big Dipper through my window. I was able to get a picture of the Big Dipper using a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 3200, 35 mm, f/1.4, 1 sec). I held the camera up to the window for the long exposure. Manually focusing to infinity and holding the camera still for 1 second was a challenge.

Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.

Big Dipper from a commercial airline jet while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 3200, 35 mm, f/1.4, 1 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)