MS Fram - David Mathre Photography

Three-Years Ago (26-December-2014) — South Georgia

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5: Day 11 – Hurtigruten MS Fram near Strømness, South Georgia

There are not many hours of darkness this far south at this time of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. You need to stay up late to see the colors at sunset and dusk, and very early to see the colors at dawn and sunrise. I was fortunate to catch this cloud formation at 03:51 AM. No one else was out on the deck other than the ship’s late night watch.

Lenticular Clouds at Dawn Over Strømness in South Georgia from the Deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram. Composite of three images taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/11, various). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, NIK HDR Efex Pro, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)

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Three-Years Ago (25-December-2014) — South Georgia Island

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5 Day 10: Christmas Day on South Georgia Island

The Hurtigruten MS Fram arrived at South Georgia early in the morning. We were ferried from the ship to the island on Polarcirkel boats (a more comfortable version of the Zodiac boats). We then hiked across the island to Grytviken — an abandoned whaling village to attend Christmas Service at the Whalers Church. This is reported to be the southern most church. It was prefabricated in Norway, and dedicated 104 years ago on Christmas Day. The Christmas service was performed in Norwegian, German, and English. The church has a foot-pumped organ that the ship’s musician used to play Christmas music (as well as “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum). We then spent the remainder of our time on shore investigating the remaining whaling buildings in Grytviken and visiting a King Penguin rookery just outside of the village.

Hikers from the Hurtigruten MS Fram going to attend Christmas Service at the Whalers Church at Grytviken in South Georgia. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 30 mm, f/16, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)

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Three-Years Ago (24-December-2014) — South Atlantic Ocean

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5: Day 9 – At Sea on the Hurtigruten MS Fram in the South Atlantic Ocean

Dawn colors from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram between the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and South Georgia Island. Views like this are why I get up early to view the sky at dawn while at sea. This is a composite of 16 image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera.

Colorful Clouds at Dawn over the South Atlantic Ocean from the Deck of the Hurtigruten MS Fram. Composite of 16 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and composite panorama created with AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)

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Three-Years Ago (23-December-2014) — South Atlantic Ocean

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5: Day 8 – At Sea on the Hurtigruten MS Fram the Falkland Islands and South Georgia

Since my Nikon Df camera was not functional, I did the best I could with my Leica T camera, and the 18-56 mm zoom lens. I never thought I would try to capture “bird in flight” images with this camera and lens. There were a pair of Wandering Albatross using the thermals behind the ship. I had to spend a lot of time to finally get an image where the birds were in focus. I can be done, but takes patience.

Pair of Wandering Albatross Searching for Food in the South Atlantic Ocean from the Deck of the Hurtigurten MS Fram. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)

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Three-Years Ago (22-December-2014) — Falkland Islands

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5 Day 7: Hurtigruten MS Fram visiting the Falkland Islands

The first thing I did when in Stanley, was to look for a camera store (or somewhere that sold cameras). My Nikon Df camera failed a couple days earlier (shutter buckled), the battery charger for the Fuji X-T1 camera was acting up, and the Leica T camera was having issues with cold temperatures. No luck, since everything has to be shipped to the island. No option for Amazon next day delivery. I was going to have to do without a camera with a big telephoto lens. Fortunately, I found someone on the ship with a different Fuji camera that used the same batteries that allowed me to borrow the battery charger. I did have some time to walk around the town and take some pictures.

Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)

Poppies and Lupines at at a Flower Garden. Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)