Category: Fine Art

Views of art from around the world

Thursday (15-April-2010) — California

Gone to See America 2010. Big Sur Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 1: Afternoon/Evening.

For the Afternoon, we spent time at Redwood Gulch Falls. The light levels within the forest near the falls ranged from very bright to very dark — well beyond the capability of DSLR sensors. Here I used Singh-Ray filters (to smooth out the water flow) and HDR (took 5 images under and over exposed) which were then combined using Photomatix. Later on we traveled to Sand Dollar beach. Our first exercise was to use filters at the beach to give the waves a soft ethereal effect. As the sun set over the Pacific ocean, I used HDR again to adapt to the wide range of light.

Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre)
Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.
Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre)
Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 5 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 5 sec).
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec).
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec).
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 8 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 8 sec).
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec).
Sunset at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 1/5, 1/10, 1/20, 1/40, 1/80 sec). HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre)
Sunset at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 1/5, 1/10, 1/20, 1/40, 1/80 sec). HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.

Saturday (07-March-2009) — New Jersey.

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey — Spring is Coming!!!

The Purple Crocuses have started blooming across the street. This is a good sign that spring is coming. In order to get a deeper depth of field (DOF) I took several images each with slightly different focus points, and then combined the images using Helicon Focus get the composite image. The focus range was just around the flowers, keeping the background leaves out of focus.

Early Purple Crocuses. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/500 sec)

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Saturday (27-December-2008) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2008 Road Trip Day 6: Birds and Reptiles at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

This was the first time that I visited Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is right next to (and is part of the John F. Kennedy Space Center). The wildlife viewing road can be closed during launches. Black Point Wildlife Drive is a target rich environment for viewing Florida wildlife. I have included a few images of birds (White Ibis, White Egret, Anhanga) and alligators. There was also a viewing station with telescopes set up to see a pair of American Bald Eagles building a nest.

White Ibis Fishing at Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. Image taken with an Nikon D3x and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Ibis Fishing at Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. Image taken with an Nikon D3x and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec).  White Egret Fishing at Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. Image taken with an Nikon D3x and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec).


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Saturday (29-November-2008) — New Jersey

The Caretaker” A Henning Hand Carved Norwegian Troll.

One of the many trolls that takes care of my house. I never know where I will find him, typically avoiding doing any work. You can find more of his friends at the Henning site in Norway.

The Caretaker, Henning Hand Carved Norwegian Troll. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro (ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 sec, flash). (David J Mathre)
The Caretaker, Henning Hand Carved Norwegian Troll. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 sec, flash).

Thursday (10-October-2008) — California

Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 6: Yosemite National Park.

The smallest waterfall in Yosemite Valley is at Fern Spring. It is just off the road and in the shade. Well worth taking the time to visit and photograph.

(David J Mathre)
Fern Falls in Yosemite Valley. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 42 mm, f/16, 1/2 sec). (David J Mathre)
Yosemite's Smallest Waterfall at Fern Spring. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/16, 5 sec). (David J Mathre)
Yosemite’s Smallest Waterfall at Fern Spring. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/16, 5 sec). (David J Mathre)