Seven-Years Ago (31-August-2012) — Ireland

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 09: Arrive and Depart Ireland. Galway, Claire County, and Cliffs of Moher Field Trip.

After a long nine days crossing the North Atlantic ocean we arrived in Galway, Ireland just after sunrise. We were given our passports, and went through immigration on the ship. The ship anchored, and we were tendered into Galway via the ships lifeboats. The day was overcast with some drizzle and rain. We were only going to be there for the day and I had signed up for the Cliffs of Moher field trip. First stop was Dunguaire Castle. The quick rest stop in Ballyvaughn ended up being a long rest stop since there were only a couple of toilets. An interesting character with a pipe was waiting in front of the village store. We then visited the ancient Poulnabrone Portal Tomb. As we drove through to the Cliffs of Moher passed a road sign for Lisdoonvarna — Largest Matchmaking Festival in Europe. There were also old stone homes, and farms with cows and horses on very green fields. We were running late, and missed the tourist boat we were supposed to take to the Cliffs. The next tourist boat was the Tranquility. The seas were rough even more than our crossing the North Atlantic. By the end of the tour, some of the students looked pretty green. The final stop was to a pub for a traditional Irish meal. Unfortunately, the meal was rushed because we had a deadline to get back onto the MV Explorer.


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Lisdoonvarna -- Matchmaking Festival. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm lens. (David J Mathre)
Lisdoonvarna — Matchmaking Festival. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm lens. (David J Mathre)


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Lamb Stew and Guinness. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10 mm lens. (David J Mathre)
Lamb Stew and Guinness. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10 mm lens. (David J Mathre)

Ten-Years Ago (29-August-2009) — At Sea, Inner Passage

Gone to See North America 2009 Road Trip. Day 08: Alaska Marine Highway on the MV Columbia.

Traveling from Bellingham, Washington to Haines, Alaska through British Columbia via the Inner Passage. The day started out foggy. During the night there was a bit of rain and wind. I felt sorry for the folks living rough on deck, but they seemed to be warm and cheerful once they moved under the covered Solarium. We saw a few Orcas during the day. Later in the afternoon, the sun came out and folks living rough moved their chairs back out on the open deck.


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Seven-Years Ago (28-August-2012) — North Atlantic Ocean

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 06: At Sea, North Atlantic Ocean.

It was another rough night with heavy seas. I got a picture of the waves outside my cabin portal. By dawn all of the water in the pool had sloshed out and the deck chairs were all tied down. During the day the wind reduced and the seas had calmed. By early evening the happy students escaping from cabin fever were out on deck for sunset. While shooting sunset, I looked behind and saw some students on the upper deck with the waxing Gibbous Moon in the sky next to them.  I would watch out for this type of moon shot on subsequent Semester at Sea voyages. I am waiting for a camera and telephoto lens combination where both the people and moon are in focus (infinite depth of field, and infinite ISO, with no noise).

Rough Seas at Night from my Cabin Portal. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 25600, 16 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Rough Seas at Night from my Cabin Portal. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 25600, 16 mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)


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Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday afternoon post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching as Hurricane Dorian tracks toward central Florida.

By mid-afternoon, I still was not able to report the downed power lines in my yard. I drove to the nearby High School where there I could get much better ATT wireless Internet reception. I logged onto the PSE&G site and reported that I didn’t have power and that I had downed wires in the yard. The automated response let me know that they would have power restored by 8 PM 04-September (next Sunday). I figured that I would be living in my RV for the week. By the time that I got back to the house, I was very surprised to see 3 PSE&G trucks pulling up. It took them some time to free the downed wire from the trees and vines. It was right around this time that the wind and a small amount of rain started up from the back side of the hurricane. I commend the PSE&G workers for their dedication to be out working before the storm had passed. After they completed here, they fixed some other local problems and were able to restore power before it got dark. I feel lucky this time that power was restored this quickly. I know that there are many others still without power and the PSE&G crews will be busy for the next several days. The following images were taken with a Leica X1 camera. Images taken with a Nikon D700 camera will be included in another post.

PSE&G Truck and Crew Getting Set Up oo Repair the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Getting Set Up oo Repair the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Workers Viewing the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Workers Viewing the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Working on the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Truck and Crew Working on the Downed Power Line. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Worker Working to Free the the Downed Power Line from Trees and Vines. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
PSE&G Worker Working to Free the the Downed Power Line from Trees and Vines. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)

Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday morning post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching Hurricane  Dorian as it tracks toward Florida.

I spent Friday and Saturday getting prepared for Hurricane Irene. The storm intensity started increasing late Saturday night. At about 11:30 PM, I heard a crash and the lights went out. When I got up Sunday morning the wind and rain had decreased significantly. I guess this was when the eye of the hurricane was moving up the coast of New Jersey directly east. When I went out I saw that a tree had fallen next to the road and took down the power, cable, and phone lines. I tried to call in the fallen lines to PSE&G, but couldn’t get past the automated emergency reporting system. My wireless Internet connection also didn’t work. A lot of branches and tree limbs were down in the yard, but thankfully no damage to the house or vehicles. The following images are of the nearby Rock Brook and local woods. Normally at this time of the year, the brook is almost dry. The road closed sign was right in front of my driveway.

Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)