monochrome - David Mathre Photography

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)

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.

Seven-Years Ago (25-March-2011) — California

Gone to See California. Day 6: Death Valley Spring 2011 Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant.

On the second day of the workshop we started the day before sunrise at Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes. Fortunately, this was not very far from Stove Pipe Wells where we spent the night. We did have to hike in the dark from the parking lot to the sand dunes. This was the reason Michael had geomarked the trail the day before. If you are going to do this remember to bring along a flashlight or headlamp, and watch out for sidewinder rattlesnakes It also was a bit chilly out. All of the images have been re-processed with Capture One Pro, including conversion to B&W.

Individual images from the slide-show can be viewed here.

Hey – The Moon is Behind You!!! Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes. Death Valley National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens. (David J Mathre)

Seven-Years Ago (24-March-2011) — California

Gone to See California. Day 5: Death Valley Spring 2011 Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant.

I rode into Death Valley with Michael Mariant. We made an initial stop at Mesquite Flats Sand Dunes prior to the start of the workshop, so Michael could geomark a trail for the next day. The photography workshop group met up at Furnace Creek. After lunch and an orientation session, we spent the afternoon at Dante’s View, Golden Valley trail, and the Devil’s Golf Course. There still was some snow on the ground at Dante’s View — 5476 ft (1669 m) above sea level. The Devil’s Golf Course is only a few feet above the lowest point (282 feet below sea level) in the National Park (and the Continental United States). You have to be careful when in the Devil’s Golf Course as the halite crystals are very sharp — which I learned the hard way. While squatting to take a picture, I managed to cut a big hole in my favorite pair of lightweight linen pants.

Individual images from the slide-shows can be viewed here.

Wednesday (21-March-2018) — New Jersey

Early Spring Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

The second day of spring brought the fourth Nor’easter storm this March. Images from mid-afternoon, and it is still snowing. So far the power has stayed on, and I haven’t lost any more trees.

Resilient Daffodils on the second day of spring. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (monochrom + one color). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (14-March-2014) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2014 – Winter Photography Workshop. Day 6: Golden Circle.

Return from the center of the earth. Fisheye view from behind Seljalandsfoss, a waterfall in southern Iceland. HDR composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon Df camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/10) using Capture One Pro and Google HDR Efex Pro 2. For the title, I like the B&W version better than the color one. There are also too many artifacts (purple fringing) in the color version. In either case, it was a difficult shot with the wide range of light, and the constant spray of water from the waterfall. The pathway to the back of the waterfall was covered with ice, and I was glad I had crampons for my boots.

Fisheye View From Behind Seljalandsfoss, a Waterfall in Southern Iceland. HDR composite of 3 images taken with a Nikon Df camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/10) using Capture One Pro and Google HDR Efex Pro 2. (David J Mathre)