Gone to See Europe and North Africa. Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop IV with Michael Mariant. Day 0: Barcelona, Spain.
After a long day of travel – Overnight on British Air from Tampa to Gatwick, then Gatwick to Barcelona we made it to the Semester at Sea MV Explorer. The ship was not docked at the location that the SAS folks indicated, but we saw it in the taxi when we got near the port. Once on board we found our cabins and had dinner. We spent the morning visiting Barcelona. The weather was great with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Our first stop was the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. There were many, many tourists visiting the unfinished Cathedral. My parents had online tickets to visit the inside of the Cathedral. If you plan to visit, get the online tickets – it will save you a line that was blocks long. I went to find Xavi, a friend and fellow student from 30 years ago when I went to Graduate School at Caltech. We had a great lunch of Tapas at Cerveceria Catalina. Xavi also recently retired and is spending his time traveling and doing photography: Xavi’s Blog. Then back to the ship for our mandatory safety drill before sailing off to Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/80 sec). In camera B&W. (David J Mathre)Tourists Viewing the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). In camera B&W. (David J Mathre)Tourists Viewing the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). In camera B&W. (David J Mathre)Detail in the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10-100 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 100 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec). Converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 7. (David J Mathre)Motorcycle Passing the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/15 sec). In camera B&W. (David J Mathre)Xavi on His Bicycle in Front of Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 6.7-13 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 6.7 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)Xavi on His Bicycle in Front of Casa Batlló in Barcelona, Spain. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 6.7-13 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 6.7 mm, f/3.5, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Vacation. Day 5: Hurtigruten Coastal Voyage Traveling North.
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.
Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 400, 10.5 mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec) (David J. Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 250 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 250 mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec) (David J Mathre)Gargoyles Outside Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (David J Mathre)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)Rørvik Coastal Museum at Night. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 50 mm f/1.4D lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/1.4, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre)
As I mentioned at the beginning of this series of posts, I am getting ready to revisit Norway. At the time of the 2007 trip I only had a DSLR for about 6 months. There were many things about it I didn’t know – I was very early in the learning curve. By reviewing and analyzing the old images, I learn from my mistakes. When I look at the images that I took during that trip I cringe knowing that I could have done a better job – composition, exposure, focus, etc. I typically include camera settings with the description to help when I analyze the images. Since then cameras have improved significantly. Likewise the software used to process the images has improved. The new software lets me fix or improve the older images, and in some cases I have reprocessed the images. One of my goals for this upcoming trip is to take fewer, but better images. Comments and criticisms about these images are welcomed.
Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 6: Kona.
Five years ago I completed a photography workshop on the Big Island of Hawaii with Thom Hogan. While on the way to the airport to catch our return flights, we stopped at Lighthaus Camera. Coincidentally, it was “Black Friday” and everything was on sale. We noticed that the store just received their initial shipment of the newly released Nikon D300 camera. Three or four of the workshop participants purchased the cameras on the spot. I have to admit that mine was an impulse purchase. Over the next four years, I took nearly 55K images with the camera (2007: 3164 images; 2008: 20371 images; 2009: 29355 images; 2010: 919 images; 2011: 628 images). This was my last Nikon DX sensor camera. Since then all of my Nikon DSLR cameras had full frame FX sensors.
The last shooting location for the workshop on that day was at Hawaii Tropical Gardens. I reprocessed an image Onomea Water Falls using Nik Silver Efex Pro.
Onomea Water Falls, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro (ISO 100, f/11, 1/1.6 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, PhotoShop CS5, and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. (David J. Mathre)
Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: Day Seven — Halloween and a Home Cooked Meal.
Last week the Gubernator canceled Halloween due to Hurricane Sandy. By Gubernator order Halloween was rescheduled for today in Montgomery Township. No one came by, even though I had my Habanero pepper surprises ready to give out. For several years the local trick-or-treat folks stopped by for my hot peppers.
Day 8: ANPAT 12 Day 1 – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (David J Mathre)
I normally don’t do food reviews, but was intrigued by something that I saw at the local grocery store today. The fish department was pretty sparse with fresh fish post Hurricane Sandy, but I did see a Cedar Planked Atlantic Salmon in their frozen display. I took one home (orange & ginger flavored) to try it out. I’ve done salmon on cedar before and liked the taste that cedar smoke can add. I defrosted the salmon on the cedar plank and removed it from its shrink wrapped plastic packaging (image below). I cooked it in my oven per the directions (preheated oven at 425 °F for ~15 minutes). The house filled with the smell of the cedar burning — some smoke, but not enough to set the smoke detectors off. When I took the plank out of the oven, the cedar plank was noticeably burnt/black — but the salmon looked good (image below). The salmon did have a good smoked taste, but was a bit too sweet. When I went back to check the list of ingredients, sugar was #2 after Atlantic Salmon.
Cedar Bay Salmon (before cooking). Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 30 camera. (David J Mathre)Cedar Bay Salmon (after cooking). Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 30 camera. (David J Mathre)
Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 11: North Cascade National Park, Lake Chelan, Washington.
Image of a female mallard duck taken during the ferry ride from Chelan to Stehkin with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR Lens. One of my favorite images from the “Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour”.
Female Mallard Duck on Lake Chelan. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre)Female Mallard Duck on Lake Chelan. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre)Female Mallard Duck on Lake Chelan. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre)
