Skyscape - David Mathre Photography

Sunday (02-January-2011) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 7: Hosteria El Pilar, Southern Hemisphere Night Sky, Fitzroy Massif at Sunrise and Sunset, and Chorrilla del Salto Waterfall.

Since everyone was tired from the long hike yesterday, we decided to take day 7 as a relatively light day to rest. This gave me the opportunity to do some early morning night sky imaging. This was good in that the weather forecast was for us to start seeing more clouds. I went out at about 03:00, knowing that it would start getting light sometime after 04:00. The further south we go, the shorter the nights!

As the sun started coming up, I got more images of Fitzroy from within walking distance of the Hosteria. After a leisurely lunch at El Pilar, we went into town and on the way back stopped at the Chorrilla del Salto waterfall for some photographic instruction. A lot of the local residence were using the waterfall to cool down on a hot summer Sunday afternoon.

While eating dinner at the Hosteria with a view of Fitzroy we observed a beautiful display of pastel colored clouds. Everyone stopped eating before the dessert could be served and ran to get a camera (if they didn’t have one with them). The view was magical.

Southern Hemisphere Milky Way. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4 G lens (ISO 100, f/4, 50 sec) (David J Mathre) — Southern Hemisphere Milky Way. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 G lens (ISO 100, f/4, 50 sec) (David J Mathre)

Reflection of Fitzroy in the Morning with a Horse. Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec). Patagonia workshop with Thom Hogan, Day 7. (David J Mathre) — Reflection of Fitzroy in the Morning with a Horse. Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec). Patagonia workshop with Thom Hogan, Day 7. (David J Mathre)

Colorful Caravan under Lenticular Clouds in El Chalten, Argentina. Image taken with a Leica D-Lux 5 camera (ISO 80, 8 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Chorrilla del Salto Waterfall near El Chalten, Argentina. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 87 mm, f/8, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)

Silhouette of Mount Fitz Roy in Patagonia at Dusk with Glowing Orange Clouds from Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Image taken with a Leica D-Lux 5 camera (ISO 80, 19.2 mm, f/5.6, 1100/sec) (David J Mathre)

Thursday (30-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 4: Estancia Helsingfors.

This was our first full day at Helsingfors. We started out by getting up early (before sunrise) to see if Fitzroy would be visible, and if there would be any interesting colors. Since this is summer in the southern hemisphere – getting up early means before 4:30 AM. Helsingfors is right on Lago Viedma so we didn’t have to walk far. Fitzroy presents a side view from Helsingfors, and can potentially be seen lit up both at sunrise and sunset. This morning it was not very visible being hidden behind clouds. I did get a panorama of the mountain right across the lake. Later, when it was light I took some images of Lupines with the lake and the mountains to the north. Before lunch, the group worked on techniques for taking images of Horses. A local Gaucho rounded up a small herd of horses and we got to photograph them in the corral, running in a field, and crossing a small stream. In the afternoon, the group went on its first short hike to a point just beyond the Helsingfors property in the National Park. On the way I found a small waterfall and spent some time with Thom working out how to best capture the image. The wind was very strong at the point. Coming back from the hike we found many examples of the local Green Orchid, which we tried to capture with macro lenses. The sun doesn’t go down until late, and it is after 10 PM when we are trying to capture some images of Fitzroy lit up as the sun goes down. All in all, a very long day but well worth every minute.

Sunrise Panorama across Lago Viedma from Estancia Helsingfors. Composite of 7 images taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens. (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (29-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 3: Buenos Aires to Estancia Helsingfors.

We flew from Buenos Aires to El Calafete, where we met up with our driver Martin and his bus. The bus is our mode of transportation for the rest of the workshop. Martin drove us to Estancia Helsingfors, which is in the western region of Glaciers National Park along Lake Viedma. Helsingfors was built as a sheep ranch in 1906 by the Finnish Pioneer Alfred Ramstrom. We stay at Helsingfors four nights. On the drive from El Calafete to Helsingfors we stopped to several times to photograph the lake and wildlife. I’ve included images of the Southern Crested Caracara and Piche (the local armadillo).