Photo Techniques - David Mathre Photography

Friday (20-May-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

The first thing I noticed when I got home from the Semester at Sea Spring Enrichment Voyage to Central America and the Panama Canal was that the Rhododendorn’s in my yard were in bloom. To qualify, the only flowers were above level that the local deer couldn’t reach last winter. My sister told me that she had coupled a Nikon TC-E 20 II (2x) teleconverter with a 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens and has been getting some good macro images. I thought that I had previously tried coupling a teleconverter with the 105 macro and that it didn’t work, but decided to try again. It worked!!! In this case a Nikon TC-E 20 III (2x) teleconverter with a 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens.

I am going to need to do a test between the 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens with the 2x TC vs. the 200 mm f/4 macro lens.

Rhotodendron Flowers. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro with a TC-E 20 III (ISO 100, 210 mm, f/11, 0.4 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Rhotodendron Flowers. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro with a TC-E 20 III (ISO 100, 210 mm, f/11, 0.4 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and converted to jpg/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Tuesday (03-May-2011) — Guatemala

Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 7: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala.

We had to get up early in order to depart for the Tarrales Bird Watching field trip at 05:30 AM. On the bus ride to Tarrales I got a grab shot of some school girls waiting for the bus to school. A good fraction of the folks on this tour were part of the Road Scholar contingent attending the Enrichment Voyage. As such the average age was higher, and we knew that we would not be hiking as far as we did yesterday to the volcano. Even though we left early, it wasn’t early enough for best bird viewing. Also, my 70-300 mm lens did not have the reach to get good images of the birds we did see. Our guide was good at finding the birds in the canopy. I only have one image of a midget owl, and it is a crop zoomed to 100%. It would have been a bit better if I took my D3x body with double the sensor size vs. the D3s body. I took the D3s because of the better low light capabilities coupled with the 70-300 f/5.6 limits. Jon got some better images with his 400 mm f/4 + TC.

After the Owl, I then switched to my 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens and focused on closer objects. In addition to close-up images of insects and flowers, the 105 mm lens is also great for people. The remainder of the following images are of a small girl in Tarrales, a local jail, a close up of a China Berry, and of a flower with a bee. Then images from the bus ride back to the M/V Explorer. A school girl, Guatemalla mass transit, a coconut vendor with his machete, limes at a produce stand, woman walking past a produce vendor, a cross-eyed guy next to a “Prohibido Estanciona” sign, woman vendor cutting coconut, her son, and several images from an open market produce vendor.

Individual images in the slide show can be viewed and/or purchased here.

Sunday (01-May-2011) — Pacific Ocean

Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 5: At Sea.

Our second day at sea while traveling from Cabo San Lucas in Mexico to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala. Most of the day was spent in the classroom with Michael. Images for the day include Sunrise, Sunset, and folks from the workshop while at sea. More use of digital post processing tools from Focus Magic, NIK (Color Efex, Define), and Topaz (Detail, DeNoise).

Solar Disk in the Mist at Sunrise on the Deck of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, Topaz DeNoise, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Solar Disk in the Mist at Sunrise on the Deck of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, Topaz DeNoise, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Jenny Shooting Sunrise on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/250 sec) Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Jenny Shooting Sunrise on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/250 sec) Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Solar Starburst looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/2000 sec) Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Solar Starburst looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/2000 sec) Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 75 mm, f/9, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, NIK Color Efex Pro Contrast, NIK Define 2, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 75 mm, f/9, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, NIK Color Efex Pro Contrast, NIK Define 2, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, NIK Define 2, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, NIK Define 2, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Liz Shooting Sunset on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/1000 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6,Topaz Detail MC, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Liz Shooting Sunset on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/1000 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6,Topaz Detail MC, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Rob and Albert Shooting Sunset on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/80 sec). Raw image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 6, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Rob and Albert Shooting Sunset on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/80 sec). Raw image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 6, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/2000 sec) Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, NIK Define 2, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/2000 sec) Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, NIK Define 2, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, Topaz DeNoise, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Sunset looking aft on the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz Detail Color Jump, Topaz DeNoise, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Jon, Joan, Liz, and Joe Eating Dinner on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 1000, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz DeNoise 5 - Strong RAW, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Jon, Joan, Liz, and Joe Eating Dinner on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 1000, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Topaz DeNoise 5 – Strong RAW, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

David, Jon, and Joan Eating Dinner on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 1600, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 6, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — David, Jon, and Joan Eating Dinner on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 1600, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 6, and converted to JPG/sRGB with Photoshop CS5.

Saturday (30-April-2011) — At Sea

Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 4: At Sea.

We have two days at sea while traveling from Cabo San Lucas in Mexico to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala. Most of the day was spent in the classroom with Michael. Images for the day include sunrise, sunset, and photography workshop members while at sea.

Sunrise on the M/V Explorer 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, converted to sRGB/jpg with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Sunrise on the MV Explorer 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec).

Nikonians Eating Dinner on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. UTW-II 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, sharpened with Focus Magic, converted to sRGB/jpg with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — UTPW-II Photography Workshop Members Eating Dinner on Deck 6 of the MV Explorer. 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 16 mm fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec).

Jon and Rob waiting for sunset on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. UTW-II 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4.5, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre) — Jon and Rob waiting for sunset on Deck 6 of the MV Explorer. UTPW-II 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4.5, 1/160 sec).

Practicing Street Photography with a Fisheye on Deck 6 of the M/V Explorer. UTW-II 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm fisheye lens (ISO 3200, 16 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro, sharpened with Focus Magic, converted to sRGB/jpg with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Practicing Street Photography with a Fisheye on Deck 6 of the MV Explorer. UTPW-II 2011 Spring Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 16 mm fisheye lens (ISO 3200, 16 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec).

Friday (29-April-2011) — Mexico

Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 3: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

A series of 12 telephoto images of a fisherman with the sun rising. The images were taken from deck 7 of the Semester at Sea MV Explorer while anchored off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.