Three-Years Ago (28-September-2008) — Utah

Gone to See American 2008 Road Trip. Driving from Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument to Bryce National Park.

Double Rainbow in Utah. While driving between Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument and Bryce National Park on Utah Highway 12 I saw a rainbow in my rear view mirror. I quickly pulled over just outside of Cannonville Utah and started taking some images. Before the rainbow was gone, many other cars pulled over to admire the view.

Double Rainbow in Utah. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 17 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Topaz Define (Color Jump), Topaz DeNoise, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Double Rainbow in Utah. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 17 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Topaz Define (Color Jump), Topaz DeNoise, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (25-September-2010) — California

Gone to See California: Point Reyes National Seashore.

I drove out to Point Reyes National Seashore to photograph the Lighthouse. I’ve tried to photograph this lighthouse on several previous occasions, but it was always shrouded in fog. I got there early in the morning, and this time it was very clear. In one image, the moon is above the lighthouse. Remembering my mentor Winston Hall telling us to always look behind you for a better picture, I turned around and saw this buck on a ridge in the early morning sunlight.

Moon over Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Moon over Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Morning Light at Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Morning Light at Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Morning Buck on a Ridge at Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Morning Buck on a Ridge at Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (19-September-2008) — Utah

Gone to See America 2008. Moab Utah Photography Workshop with Winston Hall. Day 5: Arches National Park.

Time-Lapse Video of a Hike down Park Avenue in Arches National Park. Winston Hall talked me into carrying a tripod on my shoulders so the DSLR camera would be above my head. We set the camera up with a fisheye lens and had it take images every 15 seconds. I used the ~900 images to make a time-lapse video of the hike.

Thanks to Jim Batey, I’ve added an image he took of me wearing the Tripod Headcam.

Tripod Headcam. Park Avenue Trail, Arches National Park. (Jim Batey)
Tripod Headcam. Park Avenue Trail, Arches National Park. (Jim Batey)

 

Sunday (18-September-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Summer Nighttime Sky in New Jersey.

When the conditions are right, you can see the Milky Way in New Jersey. Two views, a 5 minute and 15 minute exposure.

Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 300 sec). (David J Mathre)
Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 300 sec). (David J Mathre)
Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 900 sec). (David J Mathre)
Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 900 sec). (David J Mathre)

I am back in New Jersey after a short trip to San Francisco. I hate flying and this trip was bad. I spent 4 hours in the plane before taking off in Philadelphia (we did get back to the gate for a short stop to avoid the 3 hour federal regulation rules). Ultimately it took 12 hours from the time I left my office to get to the hotel in San Francisco. I hate flying, and would rather drive. For the return flight, the airline decided there were too many empty seats and substituted a smaller plane (and bumped 20+ passengers). ARRG! I just wanted to get home, and was not interested in a $400 future credit. Ultimately I got a seat on the original flight. It was a middle seat, and I had to force the armrest down to separate me from the over sized person next to me oozing into my seat.  I hate flying. I hate flying. I hate flying.

Two-Years Ago (12-September-2009) — Canada

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 22: Anchorage to Burwash Landing on the Alaska-Canada Highway. Yukon, Canada.

Derelict Fishing Boat . Upon completion of ANPAT 9, I started my return trip from Anchorage Alaska through Canada along the Alaska-Canada (ALCAN) highway. The first night I stopped at a RV park in Burwash Landing, Yukon Canada. The RV park is right on the bank of Kluane Lake. I noticed this derelict fishing boat right behind my RV, and thought that it looked interesting. It was overcast, and starting to get dark so I bracketed the exposures. I processed the images with Photomatix Pro, and pushed the saturation to get a colorful autumn look. Even though this may be considered by some as a “highly distorted reality” HDR, I like the effect for this image. I have also included an unprocessed single exposure version for comparison.

Intersting note if you search the net for images in and around Burwash Landing and Lake Kluane you will find many images of this boat, and see how it has decayed over the years.

Derelict Fishing Boat HDR at Burwash Landing, Yukon Canada. On Kluane Lake along the Alaska Canada Highway. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 mm lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/8). HDR Processed with Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre)
Derelict Fishing Boat HDR at Burwash Landing, Yukon Canada. On Kluane Lake along the Alaska Canada Highway. Composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 14-24 mm lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/8). HDR Processed with Photomatix Pro. (David J Mathre)
Derelict Boat at Burwash Landing, Yukon Canada. On Kluane Lake along the Alaska Canada Highway. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 mm lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/8, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre)
Derelict Boat at Burwash Landing, Yukon Canada. On Kluane Lake along the Alaska Canada Highway. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 14-24 mm lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/8, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre)