Tag: Little Planet

Thursday (18-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 4: Sintra, Pena Palace, and Cascais, Portugal.

Miguel, our local photography guide hired a van for a road trip to Sintra, Pena Palace, and Cascais. We departed a little after 07:30. I was a bit late because I wanted to take a different camera kit for the day trip. We still arrived in Sintra at 08:30 before the big tour buses. A rainbow helped guide the way to Sintra. By arriving early we had time to wander around the town to see the locals at work before being overrun by tourists. I used a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens while in Sintra. Afterwards, the van took us to the park entrance to Pena Palace. Just after leaving Sintra, I notices a photographer taking images of a model on the side of the road. We hiked the trail to Pena Palace. From a previous visit, I knew there was a bus that would drive folks up to the Palace for those that couldn’t make the walk — but it wasn’t running yet. I did the walk slowly since my left foot big toe still hurt. I also remembered to start the Garmin VIRB-360 camera. Since I visited Pena Palace twice before while on Semester at Sea trips, my main focus was the Triton guarding the entrance to the Palace. For this I used a Nikon D850 camera and 19 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (Images for another post). Low clouds/fog covered the Fairy Tail castle as we arrived. I really liked the subdued lighting for the series of images I took of the Triton. Rather than tour the Palace, I sat in one place and enjoyed the view. I collected several images of other folks taking pictures of the Triton. After walking back to the van, we went to Cascias — a fishing and tourist village on the Atlantic ocean. We had a great lunch then walked down to the small harbor. Steve was able to find a doctor and pharmacy for his  respiratory infection. I switched to my Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm lens in Cascias. A great camera for working at a distance, and catching images of people in motion (and in focus) with its high-speed burst ability.

Rainbow Leading the Way to Sintra. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Rainbow Leading the Way to Sintra. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Model. Morning Street Photography in Sintra. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Model. Morning Street Photography in Sintra. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)


Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the hike up to the Pena Palace. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.


Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the the Pena Palace Entrance. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Triton over the Pena Castle Entry. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Triton over the Pena Castle Entry. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the hike down from the Pena Palace. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Cook Cleaning a Fish. Street Photography in Cascias. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Cook Cleaning a Fish. Street Photography in Cascias. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Time-Lapse Video (360 degree Pano, Tunnel View and Little Planet View) of the Fish Lunch in Cascias. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Acrobatics on the Beach. Afternoon Street Photography in Cascias. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Acrobatics on the Beach. Afternoon Street Photography in Cascias. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

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

Snapshot from the Vanl. Afternoon Street Photography in Lisbon. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Snapshot from the Van. Afternoon Street Photography in Lisbon. Image taken with a Nikon 1V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monday (15-October-2018) — Portugal

Gone to See Portugal. Street Photography Workshop with Steve Simon. Day 1: Lisbon, Portugal.

I didn’t sleep well, as my two big toes were still sore after yesterday’s long walks. Yesterday I wasn’t wearing my walking boots, but rather the easy on/off shoes I wear when flying. That was a mistake. Finally, I just got up and worked on some images until going down for breakfast at 07:00. I used the Garmin VIRB-360 camera to record images for a time-lapsed video.

Tunnel View and Little Planet View of Breakfast at the Bessa Hotel. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

I didn’t go out for sunrise due to clouds and light rain. I also wanted to rest my feet some more. A little before noon, I went out to get some fresh fruit and a sandwich for lunch. It stopped raining and the sky was partly cloudy. I mounted the Garmin VIRB-360 camera on a short pole strapped to my backpack. That worked. With the little planet view the camera appears to be floating above me and behind my head with a 360 degree view of my surroundings.

Little Planet View of a Walk to Pick Up a Sandwich before Class. Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Steve reserved a conference room a the hotel for our classroom and image review sessions. During our first classroom session the workshop participants met and showed examples of our work. We also got a schedule for the week with the proposed street photography shooting locations. After the classroom session, we went out on our first photo walk. I set up the Garmin VIRB-360 camera in my backpack to record the walk. I chose to use my Leica CL camera with a 23 mm f/2 lens for my street photography. I set the camera to record and view the jpg images in B&W for this assignment.  The raw (DNG) images would still be in color. We started out going down toward the river from the hotel. We soon broke up so we wouldn’t all be photographing the same thing and looking like a horde of paparazzi scaring people away. In this area of the city there are locals, and lots of daily tourists that arrive on busses from the cruise ships. Soon after we split up, it started raining. I stood under a shop awning and used the even lighting to capture moving bicycles, trams, and motorcycles. My two favorite images were abstract art in the hotel lobby before we started, and a couple under an umbrella.

Abstract Art in the Lobby of the Bessa Hotel. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)
Abstract Art in the Lobby of the Bessa Hotel. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)
Rainy day discussion out on the street under an Umbrella in Lisbon. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)
Rainy Day Discussion Under an Umbrella in Lisbon. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)



Individual images in the slideshows can be viewed here.

Little Planet View of the Afternoon Street Photography Walkabout. Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

The group got together for a traditional Portuguese dinner of Bacalhau (dried and salted cod). I’ve seen the cod drying on racks out in the open while visiting Norway. The salted and dried cod can be stored for years, and is one of the foods that the Portuguese used in their sailing ships while exploring the world. It is also common in Brazil and parts of Africa. The Bacalhau needs to be soaked in water for a long time before it is cooked. The Bacalhau we had at the restaurant was still a bit salty, but an excellent meal.

Tunnel View and Little Planet View of Bacalhau for Dinner. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

360 Degree Panorama View of Bacalhau for Dinner. Images recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera.

Friday (12-October-2018) — New Jersey

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio.

The remnants of Hurricane Michael blew through last night with about 0.45 inches (11 mm) of rain. The temperature dropped to the mid 60’s, and this morning the sky was clear with a bright sun. Today may be the first day this month that my solar panels generate more electricity that I use.  Alan and Lincoln installed the railings for the rear door landing to the patio. Still more to do, but the project is getting a lot closer to being complete. While they were working on the railings I mowed the lawn, and got some pictures of a Monarch Butterfly in my Zinnia patch.

Garmin VIRB-360 Time-Lapse Video (360 degree panorama, little planet, tunnel view) 720p 24p.


Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.

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.

Tuesday (02-October-2018) — New Jersey

Home Cooking. Garlic Bread.

For something different, I decided to make a loaf of garlic bread. I set up a Garmin VIRB 360 camera to record the process. I am getting to like the Garmin camera better than the other 360 degree cameras I’m evaluating.

Garlic Bread Recipe: Sprouted Wheat Flour (1 1/2 cup); Bread Flour (1 1/2 cup); Flax Seed (1/4 cup); Chia Seed (2 Tbs); Poppy Seed (2 tbs); Celery Seed (2 tbs); Garlic powder (2 tbs); grated Parmesan cheese (2/3 cup); dry milk (1/3 cup); dried onion flakes (2 tbs); dried chives (2 tbs); flax oil (2 tbs); honey (1 tbs); egg (1 large); water (1 1/4 cup). Above ingredients added to Panasonic Bread Bakery. Yeast (2 tsp) added to yeast hopper and the unit set for white bread (Rapid) and started. The bread maker warms the ingredients for 15 minutes before adding the yeast, then starts mixing the ingredients. After the first bit of mixing, there was still a bit of dry ingredients. I added an extra 1/4 cup of water. Three hours later, the loaf of bread was removed and allowed to cool. The entire house smells of garlic — warding off any evil spirits.

Garmin VIRB camera. Garlic Bread, Little Planet Time-Lapse Video.

Garmin VIRBvcamera. Garlic Bread, 360 Panorama Time-Lapse Video.