Seascape - David Mathre Photography

One-Year Ago (01-August-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 3: Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands).

The group did a high-speed RIB Safari boat tour to the islands around Vestmannaeyjar. We needed to get into arctic survival suits, and had shoulder harness belts holding us in our seats. I strapped a camera to my chest with a fisheye lens and set it to automatically take images every few seconds. At times the boat was traveling at 40 knots with lots of heavy bouncing. We went all the way out to Surtsey island that I remember reading about as a kid rising from the sea as a volcano. At one point we saw a whale, so slowed down and stopped to take pictures. While stopped the boat rocked a lot, causing one or two passengers to lose their breakfast. This is a rough cut before adding titles, stills, a GPS map, and music. Beware if you are prone to motion sickness. Images captured with a Nikon D800 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens.

WARNING – THE TIME-LAPSE VIDEO MAY CAUSE MOTION SICKNESS

One-Year Ago (31-July-2013) — Iceland

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

Icelandic Grass on the coast of Vestmannaeyjar in 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).

Icelandic Grass Seed 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) — Icelandic Grass Seed on the coast of Vestmannaeyjar. 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)

One-Year Ago (29-July-2013) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2013 Photography Safari with Mike Hagen. Day 0: Reykjavik.

Sunset Along the Reykjavik Harbor Walkway. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 10 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). The foreground is a water fountain, and the bicycle rider just happened to go by as I took the image.

Monday (28-July-2014) — Russia

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 58: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Ship and Two Lighthouses at dusk near Kronstadt Island viewed from the deck of the MV Explorer as we departed Russia. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CC.

Fishing boat and two channel lights. View from the deck of the MV Explorer while departing St. Petersburg. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (David J Mathre)

Saturday (26-July-2014) — Russia

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 56: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Kronstadt Island, Russia.

Fort Alexander is a naval fortress on an artificial island in the Gulf of Finland near Kronstadt. It was built between 1838 and 1845 and named after Emperor Alexander I. In 1899–1917, the fort housed a research laboratory on plague and other bacterial diseases. Composite of 3 images taken with a Fuji XT1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/11). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, NIK HDR Efex Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.

I was not able to visit the Fortress that day because of another “government function” taking place at the fort — but all I saw were a couple of fisherman.

Fort Alexander is a naval fortress on an artificial island in the Gulf of Finland near Kronstadt. Composite of 3 images taken with a Fuji XT1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/11). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, NIK HDR Efex Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)