Category: Architecture

Views of buildings

Friday (28-December-2007) — Florida

Gone to see Florida 2007 Road Trip Day 7: Dawn over Tampa Bay.

I stayed at the Historic Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg. This was my last day in Florida, and I took a series of images of the dawn colors over Tampa Bay from my balcony. The Vinoy Hotel is a great place to stay and I want to return.

Colors at Dawn over Tampa Bay from a Vinoy Hotel Balcony in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens.. (David J Mathre)
Colors at Dawn over Tampa Bay from a Vinoy Hotel Balcony in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)


Tuesday (25-December-2007) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2007 Road Trip Day 4: A Busy Christmas Day.

Early morning sunrise and night-time photography at the Vinoy Hotel.  Wildlife photography at the Weedon Island Nature Preserve. Lots of birds, a crab spider, and how often do you see, let alone catch a “flying fish” in midair. Then the extended Mathre family Christmas Day celebration.

Sunrise over Tampa Bay from the Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 14-28 mm f/2.8 len (ISO 100, 20 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunrise over Tampa Bay from the Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 14-28 mm f/2.8 len (ISO 100, 20 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)


Mullet in Flight. Weedon Island Nature Preserve, Pinellas County, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec) (David J Mathre)
Mullet in Flight. Weedon Island Nature Preserve, Pinellas County, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec) (David J Mathre)



Friday (23-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 6: Kona.

The workshop team stopped at Lighthaus Camera in Kona before being dropped off at the Kona airport. This was “Black Friday” — the infamous shopping day after Thanksgiving. We noticed a pile of just delivered Nikon D300 cameras behind the counter, but assumed that they were all preordered by local camera enthusiasts. After some discussions, we found out that they were available for purchase and with a 5% discount as part of their “Black Friday” sales event. At least three of us walked out with a new D300 camera body that day. I wasn’t planning of getting a D300, and had to pay cash since they didn’t accept AMEX. In his D300 review, Thom did comment that he was the last of us to get a D300. I took a few pictures with the new camera while waiting for my plane back to the mainland at the Kona airport, and had many hours to read the manual.