Ten-Years Ago (30-August-2009) — Alaska

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 09: Alaska Marine Highway on the MV Columbia (Ketchikan, Wrangell, Wrangell Narrows, Petersburg).

Overnight we transitioned into Alaska waters. A little bit of rain for those sleeping on deck. Our first stop was in Ketchikan, where there were already three giant cruise ships. Some passengers got off at this point. The next stop was in Wrangell. I bought a $7 garnet crystal. Apparently, the owner of the mine near the town gave it to the boy and girl scouts so they could  earn money selling the crystals to tourists. We then passed through the Wrangell Narrows Channel, a narrow passage with about 60 channel markers. The final stop for the evening was Petersburg, before continuing on overnight.

Early Morning, Tents on the Solarium Deck. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)
Early Morning, Tents on the Solarium Deck. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens. (David J Mathre)


Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.



Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.



Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.


Thirteen-Years Ago (30-August-2006) — Wyoming

Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 5: Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming.

This was my first visit to Devils Tower. Coincidently, the movie”Close Encounters” was on cable at the hotel where I was staying the night before.  The images were all taken with a Nikon D200 camera and either a 18-70 mm kit lens or a 80-400 mm VR telephoto lens. Unfortunately, I only had the camera save jpg images during the trip. These images have been reprocessed using Topaz JPG to RAW and Capture One Pro (including the conversion to monochrome). Two of the images are black & white with one color. I do want to go back and do some night sky & star trails with the tower as the background.


Ten-Years Ago (29-August-2009) — At Sea, Inner Passage

Gone to See North America 2009 Road Trip. Day 08: Alaska Marine Highway on the MV Columbia.

Traveling from Bellingham, Washington to Haines, Alaska through British Columbia via the Inner Passage. The day started out foggy. During the night there was a bit of rain and wind. I felt sorry for the folks living rough on deck, but they seemed to be warm and cheerful once they moved under the covered Solarium. We saw a few Orcas during the day. Later in the afternoon, the sun came out and folks living rough moved their chairs back out on the open deck.


Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.



Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.



Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.



Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.


Thirteen-Years Ago (29-August-2006) — North Dakota

Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 4: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.

I visited both the North and South sections of the National Park. The Little Missouri river flows through the North section of the park.

Little Missouri River Overlook. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro, and AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Little Missouri River Overlook. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro, and AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)


Stone Overlook Shelter. Little Missouri River Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 52 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Stone Overlook Shelter. Little Missouri River Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 52 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Bison eating grass. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 80 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Bison eating grass. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 80 mm, f/5, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Wild horse eating grass. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Wild horse eating grass. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Painted Canyon Overlook. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro, and AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Painted Canyon Overlook. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw images processed with Topaz JPG to Raw; Capture One Pro, and AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)


Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday afternoon post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching as Hurricane Dorian tracks toward central Florida.

By mid-afternoon, I still was not able to report the downed power lines in my yard. I drove to the nearby High School where there I could get much better ATT wireless Internet reception. I logged onto the PSE&G site and reported that I didn’t have power and that I had downed wires in the yard. The automated response let me know that they would have power restored by 8 PM 04-September (next Sunday). I figured that I would be living in my RV for the week. By the time that I got back to the house, I was very surprised to see 3 PSE&G trucks pulling up. It took them some time to free the downed wire from the trees and vines. It was right around this time that the wind and a small amount of rain started up from the back side of the hurricane. I commend the PSE&G workers for their dedication to be out working before the storm had passed. After they completed here, they fixed some other local problems and were able to restore power before it got dark. I feel lucky this time that power was restored this quickly. I know that there are many others still without power and the PSE&G crews will be busy for the next several days. The following images were taken with a Leica X1 camera. Images taken with a Nikon D700 camera will be included in another post.

PSE&G Truck and Crew Getting Set Up oo Repair the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Getting Set Up oo Repair the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Workers Viewing the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Workers Viewing the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Working on the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Working on the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Worker Working to Free the the Downed Power Line from Trees and Vines. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Worker Working to Free the the Downed Power Line from Trees and Vines. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)