Fine Art - David Mathre Photography

Two-Years Ago (25-January-2016) — Japan

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 20: Hakone.

Our group departed Yokohama for an overland bus and high-speed train tour of Hakone, Hiroshima, and Kobe. The first stop on the bus was at Fuji Hakone Izu National Park where we rode a gondola up Mount Komagatake. A short hike on an icy trail brought us to the peak (1327m). I could have used crampons on my boots, and was glad I had a walking stick. It was very, very cold, but we had a perfectly clear view of Mount Fuji covered with snow and Lake Ashi below.

Individual images in this slide show can be viewed here.

We then visited a Shinto Temple in Hakone. I focused on the “water purification” process before entering the temple. One or two other tour buses with students from the ship happened to be there at the same time so we had to be careful which bus we got back on.

Individual images in this slide show can be viewed here.

We were dropped off on in Hakone on the shore of Lake Ashi with free time to get lunch. Several of us stopped at a local noodle restaurant for lunch. We were given menus with pictures of the different meals. I selected the “Smelts and Buckwheat Noodle Soup”. The waitress kept asking if I knew what “smelts” were. They looked like the fresh water smelts my grandfather would bring home from Lake Superior.

Individual images in this slide show can be viewed here.

After lunch we waited at the Pier for our “Pirate Ship” ride on Lake Ashi. That was hokey. The tourist pirate ship looked exactly like the one I rode in Gdansk, Poland — except with Japanese pirates.

Individual images in this slide show can be viewed here.

The tour bus picked us up at the other end of the lake and brought us to the Hakone Open-Air Museum.

Individual images in this slide show can be viewed here.

The final stop for the day was at Tenseien Yumoto Spring, a traditional Japanese hotel/spa in Hakone. When we checked in, we were given traditional Japanese Kimo’s that we were to wear during our stay. The room I was in was traditional Japanese style — minimal with a low table and pot of green tea. Later on the room was rearranged with a futon on the floor. Our group had its own room to sit for dinner, but we selected our food in a traditional Japanese buffet along with the other hotel guests.

Individual images in this slide show can be viewed here.
Color versions of the images can be viewed here.

Eleven-Years Ago (25-January-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Winter Family Vacation. Day 5: Northbound Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald Norwegian Coastal Voyage (Trondheim and Rørvik).

On the second full day of the northbound Hurtigruten voyage, the ship only stops in two ports: Trondheim (06:00-12:00) and Rørvik (20:30-21:15). Having six hours in Trondheim allowed us to spend some time to see the city. Our first stop was at Nidaros Cathedral. The exterior of the cathedral is a target rich environment for religious statues and gargoyles. But it was cold outside. I would love to go back with a perspective control lens to record all sides of the exterior of the cathedral. After leaving Trondheim, we stopped at Rørvik. The ship only stopped for 45 minutes, so we only had a short time to visit the Rørvik Coastal Museum.

Troll in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 52 mm, f/3, 1/40 sec) (David J Mathre) — Troll in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 28-70 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 52 mm, f/3, 1/40 sec) (David J Mathre)

Two-Years Ago (18-January-2016) — Pacific Ocean

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 13: Crossing the Pacific Ocean From Hawaii to Japan.

It was a long day. I got up well before dawn, and got a silhouette image of the forward deck statue. Then a so, so sunrise image. In my cabin on the 8th deck was an oil painting, with a brass label and signature on the painting of Claude Monet. I asked one of the art history students if she could identify the painting and if it was the original or a copy? I didn’t really believe that it was the original, but the ship (MV Deutschland) when Semester at Sea wasn’t leasing it as the MV World Odyssey did have a lot of art work (paintings, statues, gold chandeliers, exotic woods, brass fittings, china dining ware, etc). When I got back home, I was able to do a Google image search, and found that it was indeed a painting by Claude Monet “Path Through the Corn at Pourville“. The original is listed as being in a private collection. For sunset, I set up a camera to do a time-lapse sequence on the forward upper deck, which I made into a video. There was a 1980’s disco for the faculty, staff, and life-long-learners (students not invited) in the faculty lounge/bar. To end the day I got an image of the constellation Orion while standing on a moving ship. The sensors on the new cameras are amazing, and can capture images in very low light situations. In the past, I would have had to use a much longer exposure where you would see the stars as jagged lines.

Individual images in the slide show can be viewed here.

The constellation Orion in the night sky from the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 6400, 35 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)

Seven-Years Ago (04-January-2011) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 9: Hosteria Los Notros.

As we were waiting for our rooms at Hosteria Los Notros I saw this painting. I didn’t know what is was, but the names of Charles Darwin and Jemmy Button were written on the side [Despedida de Charles Darwin y Jemmy Button 1834]. With the internet you find things about almost anything. So many things that I didn’t know about the history of Patagonia are intertwined in the painting [link]. Apparently, Captain FitzRoy during the first voyage of the HMS Beagle purchased or took Jemmy Button (a native from the islands around Tierra del Fuego) hostage, and brought him back to England. On the second voyage of the HMS Beagle, Captain FitzRoy and the young Charles Darwin returned Jemmy Button back to Patagonia. I heard that the Hosteria Los Notros is no longer open, and don’t know where the painting is now.

Painting at Hosteria Los Notros "Despedida de Charles Darwin y Jemmy Button 1834". Hosteria Los Notros (David J Mathre) — Painting at Hosteria Los Notros “Despedida de Charles Darwin y Jemmy Button 1834”. Hosteria Los Notros (David J Mathre)

Sunday (31-December-2017) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2017/2018 Road Trip. Day 11: Big Cypress National Preserve.

The trees are too close together at Clyde Butcher’s retreat to get a good view of the full sky for sunrise or sunset. I found a nearby location near the northern entrance of the Loop road for sunset last night, so I returned for dawn and sunrise. I was not disappointed as the colors in the clouds developed just before sunrise.

Inverse Little-Planet View of Colorful Dawn Clouds. Begining of the Loop road through Big Cypress National Preserve. Winter Nature in Florida Composite of 21 mages taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite generated using AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre) — Inverse Little-Planet View of Colorful Dawn Clouds. Begining of the Loop road through Big Cypress National Preserve. Winter Nature in Florida Composite of 21 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite generated using AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)

I went back to Clyde Butcher’s “Swamp Bungalow” for breakfast. The baby (one-year old) alligators were out next to the pond. Then it was back to the Loop road in Big Cypress National Preserve, with two goals — more birds and alligators, and pictures of the Cypress swamp. The swamp pictures were taken with a Leica T camera and then converted to B&W.