Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 2: Northern Peninsula of Michigan.
Miners Rock at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. For the first two days I drove almost non-stop (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, then Michigan). I decided to stop at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the shore of Lake Superior and take some pictures. Two days before the trip I got a Nikon D200 DSLR camera and two lenses, a 18-70 mm kit lens and a 80-400 mm VR telephoto lens. All I knew about using the camera was from what I read in the manual — not much. All images were recorded as jpg, not raw which limited future processing.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 85 mm, f/4.5, 1/750 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Summertime Nature in Colorado. Rocky Mountain National Park.
Reflections at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. When ever possible, I stop at Lily Lake. It is part of Rocky Mountain National Park, but outside the paid access part of the park along Colorado Highway 7. There is a mother duck and eight ducklings sleeping in the shadows on the far side of the lake in the first panorama image. I have also included a closer view of the ducks through a telephoto lens.
Summer Morning Reflections at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/22, 1/20 sec). (David J Mathre)Mother Duck and Eight Ducklings Resting in the Middle of Lily Lake. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 04: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
Sunrise and Big Horn Sheep Silhouette. I got up early and drove out of the fog at the campsite in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There was a great sunrise view above and looking over the fog covered Little Missouri River. One of the things that Winston Hall taught us was to always look behind, because there may be a better/different image. Sure enough I saw this Big Horn Sheep, and caught a silhouette image of it in mid-air.
Sunrise Over a Fog Covered Missouri River at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/22, 1/100 sec). (David J. Mathre)Early Morning Silhouette of a Big Horn Sheep in Midair. Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 220, 400 mm, f/11, 1/1600 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 03: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
Bison Bulls Fighting. My first night sleeping in the RV in a campground at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. These two Bison Bulls were having an argument just outside my site. I was glad that I would sleeping in the RV, and not in a tent like the family just across the road.
Male Bison Fighting in the Campground at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 18-200 mm lens. (David J. Mathre)
Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 01: Embark and Depart from Halifax, Canada.
The students boarded the MV Explorer in shifts beginning at 08:00. It was an efficient process, and most everyone was onboard by 11:00. We were told that after lunch that there would be a mandatory evacuation drill. Everyone was supposed to get their life-jacket and report to their evacuation station wearing long pants, long shirt, shoes, and a hat. Once we got to our station, the ship staff did a roll call to make sure everyone was accounted for and present. The drill is required before the ship can leave port. After the drill was completed, we were ready to leave at 17:00. Most everyone lined up on the open decks to watch the departure. The parents and relatives that came were all lined up on the roof of the port terminal. Michael Mariant was set up to take a series of images from Deck 7 that will be combined into a time-lapsed video for the entire Fall 2012 Voyage.
Weather permitting I plan to take an early morning image during dawn or sunrise, and an evening image at sunset or during dusk. I did this exercise during the previous two Enrichment voyages on the MV Explorer, and got images with great colors.
Sunrise over the Lighthouse Island in Halifax Harbor from the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10-30 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 16.3 mm, f/4.2, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)Sailboat and Lighthouse in the Halifax Harbor. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 93.5 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). Watercolor effect applied using a Topaz Simplify/Painterly filter. (David J Mathre)Evacuation/Lifeboat Drill. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 30 camera (ISO 400, 4.3 mm, f/4, 1/15 sec) (David J Mathre)MV Explorer Departure from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 10 mm, f/4.5, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)Sunset from Deck 7 of the MV Explorer in the Atlantic Ocean. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 10 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
