Seascape - David Mathre Photography

Thursday (15-April-2010) — California

Gone to See America 2010. Big Sur Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 1: Morning.

The group attending the Big Sur Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant was scheduled to meet for breakfast in San Simeon. I walked down to the shore along the Pico Creek before breakfast to get some early morning images. The first is of the succulent sea fig (Carpobrotus chilensis) plant and its flower. It turns out that this is an invasive species. I then saw some tracks in the sand. I wondered if they were from a mountain lion, but since the nails were present — probably a dog. There was a lot of drift wood on the beach. Some to build a wind shelter. After breakfast, the group went to Piedras Blancas beach to view the Elephant Seals. The same place I was the previous evening. While Michael was beginning his workshop, I managed to catch a patrol of Brown Pelicans flying over in formation. Several more images of the Elephant Seals, including one with a Chipmunk on the sand. The final image includes the Piedras Blancas Rock and Lighthouse in the background (and a yawning Elephant Seal near the bottom right).

Sea Fig (Carpobrotus chilensis) near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/3.2, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Sea Fig (Carpobrotus chilensis) near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/3.2, 1/250 sec).

Animal Tracks near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Animal Tracks near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec).

Driftwood Shelter near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre) — Driftwood Shelter near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec).

Driftwood Shelter near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre) — Driftwood Shelter near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec).

Driftwood near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre) — Driftwood near Pico Creek, San Simeon, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec).

Brown Pelican Patrol, Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/14, 1/800 sec) (David J Mathre) — Brown Pelican Patrol, Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/14, 1/800 sec)

Brown Pelican Patrol, Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec) (David J Mathre) — Brown Pelican Patrol, Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/10, 1/400 sec)

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 70 mm, f/16, 1/160 sec) (David J Mathre) — Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 70 mm, f/16, 1/160 sec)

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec) (David J Mathre) — Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec)

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre) — Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec)

Elephant Seal at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/400 sec) (David J Mathre) — Elephant Seal at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/400 sec)

Chipmunk and Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre) — Chipmunk and Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/6.3, 1/250 sec)

Elephant Seals and Driftwood at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 145 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec) (David J Mathre) — Elephant Seals and Driftwood at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 145 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec)

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach and Lighthouse, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 165 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec) (David J Mathre) — Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach and Lighthouse, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 165 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec)

Thursday (15-April-2010) — California

Gone to See America 2010. Big Sur Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 1: Afternoon/Evening.

For the Afternoon, we spent time at Redwood Gulch Falls. The light levels within the forest near the falls ranged from very bright to very dark — well beyond the capability of DSLR sensors. Here I used Singh-Ray filters (to smooth out the water flow) and HDR (took 5 images under and over exposed) which were then combined using Photomatix. Later on we traveled to Sand Dollar beach. Our first exercise was to use filters at the beach to give the waves a soft ethereal effect. As the sun set over the Pacific ocean, I used HDR again to adapt to the wide range of light.

Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre) — Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.

Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 5 sec). (David J Mathre) — Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 5 sec).

Sunset at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 1/5, 1/10, 1/20, 1/40, 1/80 sec). HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre) — Sunset at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 1/5, 1/10, 1/20, 1/40, 1/80 sec). HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.

Wednesday (14-April-2010) — California

Gone to See America 2010. Big Sur Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 0: Piedras Blancas Beach.

I arrived in San Simeon on the California coast the day before the Big Sur Workshop. After dinner, I drove 7 miles north to the Elephant Seal view-point on Piedras Blancas beach. There are hundreds of Elephant Seals just being lazy and making a lot of noise. The young males are mock fighting, but not doing much damage. This was an image rich environment.

Click on the image to view the whole set.

Saturday (19-December-2009) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii, Maui Day 4: Hookipa Beach and Iao State Park.

I drove back in the afternoon to Hookipa beach to see if there would be any surfing. Unfortunately, the waves were not good and there were red flags at the beach warning surfers and swimmers to stay out of the water. The only one in the water was a parasurfer — way out. Took some images of the waves going over the volcanic rocks below the overlook, and another photographer taking pictures of the rough waves. Since conditions were not good here, I drove to Iao Valley state park. By the time I got there the rain was starting to get heavy so didn’t go for a hike up the valley, but did get a picture of the Iao needle in the clouds. The next day I heard that there was hail with this rain storm (unusual for Hawaii).

Lone parasurfer at Hookipa Beach. Image taken from the overlook. On the North Shore of Maui. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec) (David J Mathre)

Tourists watching waves crashing over volcanic rocks at Hookipa Beach Park. From the beach overlook on the North Shore of Maui. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 220 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec) (David J Mathre)

Photographer at Hookipa Beach Park overlook. On the North Shore of Maui. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre)

Thursday (17-December-2009) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii, Maui Day 2: Nakalele Point Blowhole.

Nakelele Point, Nakalele Blowhole, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 70 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)