Category: Transportation

Wednesday (17-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 3: Lisbon, Portugal.

Left foot still hurting. I was up several times during the night, finally just stayed up and selected and processed images for the day’s classroom review. Breakfast at 07:00, which I recorded with the Garmin VIRB-360 camera. I’m getting used to the runny scrambled eggs.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of Breakfast at the Bessa Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

We spent the morning traveling on the Metro to practice Speed Shooting. We stopped at several stops on the Blue and Yellow lines. I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera on a short pole attached to my backpack. For my street shooting I chose the Nikon D850 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens, mainly because we would be riding the subway and potentially in close contact with potential subjects. While stopped at one of the stations, a Poliza officer approached and told me I was not allowed to take pictures of people. The officer let me take his picture standing next to Steve after discussing our project.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of Metro Stop Speed Shooting. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Statue in the Subway Station. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Statue in the Subway Station. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Poliza & Steve Discussing Street Photography in Lisbon. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Poliza Officer & Steve Discussing Street Photography in Lisbon. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

After the last stop we dispersed with the assignment to walk back to the hotel for the afternoon image review and classroom session. I  made a wrong turn, so just followed a main road down until I reached the Tagus river. I was almost at the place where we docked on the MV Explorer when I visited Lisbon four years earlier with Semester at Sea. At that point still a long walk back to the hotel. I was exhausted, and my left foot was really hurting. For the remainder of the walk back,  I set the camera to do interval shooting while resting  it on my arm. I found a couple of building murals near the Time-Out market that I want to see again. Just before getting back to the hotel, a group of preschool or kindergarten kids dressed in uniforms were leaving Cinemateca Júnior. I just stood still and let the camera click every 5 seconds.

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the Walkabout back to the Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.



Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.

Lessons learned for the day include the Nikon D850 camera needs better hand-holding techniques, a tripod, or very fast shutter speeds — even with the wide-angle fisheye lens. I bailed on the afternoon and evening shooting to rest my foot with an ice pack.

Sunday (14-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 0: Lisbon, Portugal.

The TAP flight from Newark arrived in Lisbon early, before 05:00. Lisbon is one of the airports where international passengers deplane outdoors, and then bussed to the terminal. We climbed the stairs in the terminal as the escalators were not running yet, then waited for the customs & immigration folks to set up for the morning. Other than some homeless folks sleeping on the benches, the airport terminal was deserted. I took a taxi from the airport to the Bessa Hotel. It was still dark out as the sun wouldn’t rise until 07:44. The air was clear and cool. The driver told me that they had a bit of wind and rain from Hurricane Leslie the day before — but no real damage in Lisbon. Apparently, the storm hit further up the coast. The hotel didn’t have a room ready, but did allow me to check in early and leave my luggage, computer, and camera bag in a locked room. I had a quick breakfast at the hotel restaurant (opened at 07:00). Other than the scrambled eggs being undercooked and watery the breakfast was good, especially the selection of fresh fruit. I ate fast since I wanted to get to the Tagus river to catch sunrise. I took my Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens for my morning walkabout. I’ve visited Lisbon twice before while on Semester at Sea voyages, so had some memory of the city layout. I arrived at the Tagus river near the twin columns (Cais das Colunas) at one of the large squares (Praça do Comércio) just in time for sunrise. For an early Sunday morning a lot of activity was going on in the square. TV crews setting up cameras, city workers picking up trash and cleaning the streets, and construction workers setting something up for a large crowd. Then I remembered that the taxi driver said the Lisbon Marathon was happening today with the finish line in the square. During an earlier visit to Lisbon I remembered the square set up with a large video screen for a crowd to watch World Cup playoffs.  I walked along the river down to where the Semester at Sea MV Explorer docked during my previous visit. I got there too late to see the Lux nightclub close, but saw lots of bottles and glasses from the previous nights party on the street. I returned to the hotel just as Steve Simon arrived from the airport. While waiting for our rooms  we went to a local Starbucks for coffee. Steve seems to know the location of  Starbucks in any city. I walked around a bit more and when I returned to the hotel my room was ready. I unpacked, and downloaded the mornings images before going out again. This time with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera mounted on my walking stick. I walked part of the marathon route watching the runners and later on the slower walkers pass down the road. I picked up some fresh fruit and a sandwich for lunch. By this time my feet were sore from all the walking and the jet lag caught up with me. I took a short nap, then joined Steve and Don for dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. I used the Garmin VIRB-360 camera to capture images for a “little planet” and “inverse little planet/tunnel view” time-lapse video of the dinner.






Individual Images from the slideshows can be viewed here.

Afternoon Walkabout in Lisbon during the Marathon. Little-planet time-lapse video (Garmin VIRB-360).

Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Little planet and Tunnel View time-lapse video (Garmin VIRB-360)

Five-Years Ago (07-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 2: Gold King Mine and Ghost Town.

After Jerome, we visited the “tourist attraction” of Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Or how to make money off a dump. Lots of derelict old cars and mining equipment, along with displays for paying tourists visiting a ghost town. It even boasts an old-time desert rat riding a Harley Davidson (for a fee).

Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Junk Yard and Tourist Trap. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Junk Yard and Tourist Trap. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (David J Mathre)
No Peein" Sign and Water Bottles at Gold King Mine and Ghost Town near Jerome, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/2.2, 1/320 sec). Nikonians ANPAT 13. (David J Mathre)
No Peein” Sign and Water Bottles at Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/2.2, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)


Political Message at Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Junk Yard and Tourist Trap. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (David J Mathre)
Political Message at Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Junk Yard and Tourist Trap. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (David J Mathre)


Kavanaugh Supporter Having a Beer. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 18.5 mm f/2 lens (David J Mathre)
Nikonian Kavanaugh Supporter Having a Beer. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 18.5 mm f/2 lens (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (05-October-2013) — Utah & Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. On the Road: Green River to Sedona.

Early DIY Car Cam time-lapse video. Driving from Green River to Sedona. Eight hours travel time compressed to two minutes 44 seconds. Images captured with a Nikon One V2 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens mounted on a tripod sitting in my passenger seat. The 3934 images were processed with Photoshop CC  and exported  into a 720p 24p time-lapse video. Fast-forward to today, and I am about to mount a Garmin VIRB camera on my dashboard so I can do 360 degree time-lapse videos on future road trips.

Thursday (04-October-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Yard Work in New Jersey.

There is a lot of yard work that needs to be completed before winter. I set up the Garmin VIRB-360 camera to record the day on the front of my Lawn Tractor.  I’ve ordered a powered mounting bracket to mount the camera in my car. A lot easier than when I mounted a camera on a tripod sitting in the passenger seat for recording time-lapse videos of cross country road trips.