Fine Art - David Mathre Photography

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)

Five-Years Ago (10-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 5: Williams, Chloride, and Oatman.

When we woke up, there was snow on the ground. Early winter — but Williams is 6766 feet above sea level. The government shutdown continued, and the closure of Grand Canyon National Park continued. Our van set out for opportunities at lower elevations free of snow. We traveled to Chloride, a one time silver mining town and now nearly a ghost town. Outside of Chloride, we visited a site where artist Roy Purcell created some modern rock murals back in the 1960’s. We also visited Oatman, another former gold mining town. Now a tourist destination. But the remaining local residents don’t want the tourists to feed the wild burro’s.

Footsteps in an Early Snowfall (Williams, Arizona). Gone to See America 2013. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre) — Footsteps in an Early Snowfall (Williams, Arizona). Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Modern Rock Mural near Chloride by Artist Roy Purcell. There are a lot of very colorful murals in this location started in 1966. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 400, 55 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Wild Burro (Donkey) in Oatman, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-120 mm lens (ISO 200, 120 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Ten-Years Ago (10-October-2008) — California

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

On the last day of ANPAT 8, we did a walkabout in Yosemite Valley. First, we visited the smallest waterfall in the valley at Fern Spring. It is just off the road and in the shade. Well worth taking the time to visit and photograph. I also got some images of mushrooms/tree fungi. While I was busy with the mushrooms, the rest of the group tried to get a picture of a small brown bear running to the Merced river.

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)

Tree Fungus in Yosemite National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 35 mm, f/16, 4 sec). (David J Mathre) — Tree Fungus in Yosemite National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 35 mm, f/16, 4 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (09-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 4: Page, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend.

The US Government was in shutdown mode while we visited Arizona. All the National Parks, Monuments, and other “non-essential” government facilities closed. The organizers of ANPAT 13 scrambled to find other locations for the four vans of photographers to visit. The original plan was to spend most of remaining time in Grand Canyon National Park. Many folks signed up for the trip specifically to see the north rim of the Grand Canyon and not surprisingly disappointed and angry. Our van’s revised assignment for the day included Lower Antelope canyon, on Navajo land, and thus not closed. Horseshoe Bend, where the upper vista point is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land — technically closed, but not preventing visitors hiking to the vista point. Finally, Glen Canyon Dam, where the visitor center closed, but the dam and power generation remained in operation. Like us, tourists from all around the world were looking for alternative things to do and see leading to overcrowding at some locations.

We first drove to Page, and then Upper Antelope Canyon. I’d been there before on a Photography Workshop with Winston Hall. It is a target rich environment for photographers. You can only visit Antelope Canyon with a Navajo guide, and this time we had to sign a release regarding use of images and safety. The sky was cloudy, so we didn’t have the light beams coming down into the narrow slot canyon — but it still was a wonderful place to get some very unique images. The next stop was Horseshoe Bend. I’d also been there before with Winston Hall. The parking area was nearly full, and the only evidence of the government shutdown were locked restrooms. We hiked to Horseshoe Bend vista point, and found many folks already there. Rather than fight for a spot at the favorite viewpoint, I found a different place with a good view. I mounted a camera Nikon 800 camera with a fisheye lens on a sturdy monopod, then held the camera over the edge. It’s quite a view. A bit later I saw a National Geographic photographer put a camera out over the canyon wall with an even longer pole. This was before the days of drones.

Horseshoe Bend, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/11, 1/100 sec). Camera mounted on a monopod held out over the cliff. (David J Mathre)

Individual images from theses slideshows can be viewed here.

Ten-Years Ago (09-October-2008) — California

Gone to See America October 2008 Road Trip. Eighth Annual Nikonian Photography Adventure Trip. Day 5: Yosemite National Park.

The Park Service recovered all of our belongings from the tent-cabins in Curry Village. We then checked into various Yosemite hotels and lodges (gratis). Much higher end lodging than the sparse tent-cabins. Before dinner, Michael Mariant as a special treat after all the weeks commotion took us for a walk along a quiet and peaceful section of the Merced river. The diffuse and sublime lighting made for some great images.

Merced River Walkabout (Color Version)

Merced River Walkabout (Monochrome Version)

Merced River Walkabout (Photographer Ghosts)