Two-Years Ago (31-July-2013) — Iceland.

Gone to See Iceland 2013: Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 2: Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

We spent the day on the island of Vestmannaeyjar. Puffins, sheep, and landscapes. The main town on the island was nearly destroyed by volcanic activity in 1973.

Puffin with Fish in Flight. Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Puffin with Fish in Flight. Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence. Icelandic Sheep Attempting to get its head through the fence on the summer pastures in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. I think the fence was to keep the sheep from the Puffin Nests. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). Nikonians Academy Iceland Photo Adventure Tour. (David J Mathre)
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence. Icelandic Sheep Attempting to get its head through the fence on the summer pastures in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. I think the fence was to keep the sheep from the Puffin Nests. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence. Sheep grazing on the summer pastures in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/9, 1/500 sec). Nikonians Iceland Photo Adventure Tour. (David J Mathre)
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence. Sheep grazing on the summer pastures in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/9, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lupins at the Edge of the Lava Field in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. The volcanic equption back in 1973 almost swallowed the town - there are homes buried under those rocks. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 6.7-13 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 6.7 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). Nikonians Iceland Photo Adventure Tour. (David J Mathre)
Lupins at the Edge of the Lava Field in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland. The volcanic equption back in 1973 almost swallowed the town – there are homes buried under those rocks. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 6.7-13 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 6.7 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Grass Seed and Driftwood on a Black Volcanic Sand Beach. Vestmannaeyjar Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10-100 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 69 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Nikonians Academy Iceland Photo Adventure. (David J Mathre)
Grass Seed and Driftwood on a Black Volcanic Sand Beach. Vestmannaeyjar Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10-100 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 69 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Icelandic Grass Seed and Driftwood on the coast of Vestmannaeyjar Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10-100 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 39 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). Nikonians Academy Iceland Photo Adventure. (David J Mathre)
Icelandic Grass Seed and Driftwood on the coast of Vestmannaeyjar Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10-100 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 39 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (31-July-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summer Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

Star Trails taken by three cameras. (1) Looking North: Nikon D3s camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/4, 30 sec). (2) Looking South: Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/4, 30 sec). (3) Looking South and Up: Nikon D3x camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 14 mm, f/4, 30 sec). One hour composite star trail images. Dew settled on the 14-24 mm lens making the center of the image darker and making it look like there are few stars.




Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.

Seven-Years Ago (31-July-2008) — Colorado

Summer Nighttime Sky Over Colorado.

Star trails from my room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Boulder, Colorado. Composite of 180 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec exposures). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro 8, and combined using Photoshop CC 2014 (scripts, statistics, maximum). Note that these images were taken using the in-camera intervalometer and noise reduction so for every minute, only 30 seconds of exposure. I’ve learned how to do it better since then — using an external intervalometer and doing the noise reduction post processing.

Star trails from my room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Boulder, Colorado. Composite of 180 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec exposures). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro 8, and combined using Photoshop CC 2014 (scripts, statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Star trails from my room at the Marriott Residence Inn in Boulder, Colorado. Composite of 180 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec exposures). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro 8, and combined using Photoshop CC 2014 (scripts, statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (30-July-2014) — Baltic Sea

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 60: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. At Sea.

Summer Evening at Anchor on the Baltic Sea near Sweden.  Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro Nik Define, and Photoshop CC.

Summer Evening at Anchor on the Baltic Sea near Sweden.  Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro Nik Define, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
Summer Evening at Anchor on the Baltic Sea near Sweden.  Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/6.3, 1/1600 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro Nik Define, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)

Two-Years Ago (30-July-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 1: Golden Circle.

The Bubble is About to Burst. Strokkur, a geyser in the Haukadalur geothermal area beside the Hvítá River in Iceland. Images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 100, 80 mm, f/11, 1/320 sec). The great thing about this geyser is that it erupts several times an hour, and you can get to relatively close safe distance. All of the Golden Circle bus tours stop here, so it can be crowded.