Eleven-Years Ago (21-January-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Winter Vacation. Day 1: Oslo.

Revisiting a family trip to Norway in 2007. Some of images have been posted before, and some are new. The trip started in Oslo. I flew in from New Jersey, and the rest of the family flew in from Florida. All together, I think there were 22-24 of us in the group. On this first day, we toured Oslo. At the end of the day we had pizza with Arnie. It took a fisheye lens to get the whole group in one image. During this trip, I was using a Nikon D2xs camera with 7 lenses (10.5 mm fisheye, 12-24 mm, 28-70 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 80-400 mm, and 85 mm). Before I learned to travel light…

Family in Norway, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Family in Norway, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)


Eleven-Years Ago (20-January-2007) — Norway.

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Winter Vacation. Day 0: Oslo.

My parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, and aunt all arrived in Oslo from Florida, Minnesota, Ohio and New Jersey for a wintertime vacation in Norway. We checked into a hotel in Oslo pretty much jet-lagged. At 02:00, I woke up hearing some loud music. There was a club just across the street. I don’t know what time clubs close in Oslo, but there was a line of folks waiting for a taxi (I don’t think buses run that late). These images were taken from my hotel room window.

For the next couple of weeks I will be posting images (some new, some previously posted) from the trip as we spent time in Oslo, Bergen, and while on the Hurtigruten Coastal voyage along the coast of Norway. We visited many ports and towns between Bergen and Kirkenes aboard the MS Kong Harald.

Line of folks waiting for a taxi outside a club in Oslo. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 1600, 70 mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro and NIK Define. (David J Mathre)
Line of folks waiting for a taxi outside a club in Oslo. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 1600, 28 mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro and NIK Define. (David J Mathre)
Line of folks waiting for a taxi outside a club in Oslo. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 1600, 70 mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro and NIK Define. (David J Mathre)
Line of folks waiting for a taxi outside a club in Oslo. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 1600, 70 mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro and NIK Define. (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (10-January-2013) — Florida

Gone to See America. January 2013 Florida Road Trip. Day 7: Merritt Island and Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse.

Before starting my drive back to New Jersey, I spent the morning on Merritt Island. First for sunrise at Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore, then for a drive through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge — both along Biolab Road and Black Point Wildlife Drive. The previous day there was heavy fog in the morning so I didn’t go to Playalinda beach. This beach is favored by surf fishermen. While driving north I also stopped at the Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse near Daytona, Florida.

Rather that using the big telephoto lenses, all of the images on this day were taken with a Nikon D700 with a 28-300 mm VR lens, a Leica X2, or a Nikon 1 V2 and 18.5 mm f/1.8 lens. All hand-held, no tripod.


Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse near Daytona, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 40 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse near Daytona, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 40 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lighthouse Replica at the Hidden Treasure Rum Bar and Grill. It is right across the street from the real Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse near Daytona, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/13, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lighthouse Replica at the Hidden Treasure Rum Bar and Grill. It is right across the street from the real Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse near Daytona, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/13, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (06-January-2013) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2013 Road Trip. Day 3: Foggy Morning in St. Petersburg.

The view from the Vinoy hotel was foggy. At first  could only see a lonely chair on my balcony.


Five-Years Ago (05-January-2013) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2013 Road Trip. Day 2: St. Petersburg Pier Holiday Colors.

While staying at the Historic Vinoy hotel, I was able to look out my balcony and see the St. Petersburg Pier. It still was being lit up at night with colors that changed every few minutes. I set up a couple of cameras to take a series of images, that were then processed into time-lapse videos. Since then the Pier has been torn down. I don’t know what it will be replaced with.