Tag: MV Explorer

Wednesday (22-August-2012) — Canada

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 00: Halifax, Canada.

Arrival of MV Explorer in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Overnight I received an e-mail from Michael Mariant that confirmed the MV Explorer would arrive in Halifax at 08:00 hours. I went down to the harbor early to watch the sunrise, and scout a good location to photography the ship when it arrived. When the ship did not arrive at 08:00, I walked to the Halifax casino, and then back to the cruise line terminal. Part way back, I saw the MV Explorer coming into port and started taking pictures. The ship went around an island in the harbor so it could dock on the port side of the ship. After waving to Michael and the other staff and faculty on deck that sailed from Boston to Halifax, I went back to the hotel to have breakfast and pick up my luggage.

The Life Long Learners and students with work-study assignments boarded the ship the day before departure. The boarding process included inspection by both Canadian immigration authorities and ship staff. Prior to leaving we were provided with a list of prohibited items, but I noticed some students giving items back to their parents when they realized that the luggage was going to be inspected. Passports were checked and those going to Ghana and Brazil needed their visas a yellow fever vaccination certificate. I did not need the visa and Yellow fever certificate since I would be departing the voyage in Casablanca, Morocco. We all received a ship ID with the picture we provided. The luggage was both x-rayed and hand inspected. There even was a dog that sniffed the luggage. Finally, after going through a metal detector we were allowed to board the ship. The majority of the students board the ship tomorrow.

Once onboard, I found my cabin on deck 4. For this voyage, my cabin was on the starboard side of the ship. This confused me a bit since I was on the port side on my previous Enrichment Voyages. I spent the afternoon wandering around reacquainting myself with the ship and its layout. I recognized many of the ship staff from my previous Enrichment Voyages. My suitcase was delivered to my cabin mid-afternoon. In the evening a reception was held on the ship for the parents of the students that would be on the Fall 2012 voyage. I am looking forward to meeting the students and getting on way to Europe.

M/V Explorer Turning to Dock in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
MV Explorer Turning to Dock in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Theodore Too and Lighthouse in the Halifax Harbor. The Theodore Too is an old tugboat that has been converted into a harbor tour boat. It looks like a cartoon character. We saw it go past the ship several times during the day. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 42.2 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Theodore Too and Lighthouse in the Halifax Harbor. The Theodore Too is an old tugboat that has been converted into a harbor tour boat. It looks like a cartoon character. We saw it go past the ship several times during the day. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 42.2 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Two-Years Ago (03-June-2010) — Trinidad

Gone to See the Caribbean Islands. Semester at Sea Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 8: Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Hummingbird in the Rain at the Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec).

Hummingbird in the Rain, Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird in the Rain, Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (14-May-2011) — Belize

Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 18: Belize.

Black Vultures in Flight in Belize. The lake was filled with dead fish. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec).

Black Vultures in Flight in Belize. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Black Vultures in Flight in Belize. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)

Friday (15-July-2011) — Florida

The Photographic Art Society of Florida. “Black & White and One Color” Exhibition.

I just got word that a print of my image “Girl with Yellow Pants Running” won First Place at the The Photographic Art Society of Florida exhibition last night. The theme of the show was “Black & White and One Color”. I took this image while on the second Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop (UTPW-II) earlier this spring while returning by bus from a field trip to the Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala (02-May-2011) in the town of San Francisco de Sales. The image was processed with Capture One Pro 6 using the inverse color selection tool to select the yellow color of the pants and notebook and decreasing the saturation of all other colors to black and white. Other processing was performed with Nik Viveza, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. I thank my sister Kari Sheppard for persevering while printing the image for the exhibition since it kept coming out too dark.

Girl with Yellow Pants Running into Building with UNE Party Sign in San Francisco de Sales. Pacaya Volcano National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 280, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Nik Viveza 2, Nik Define 2 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Girl with Yellow Pants Running into Building with UNE Party Sign in San Francisco de Sales. Pacaya Volcano National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 280, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Nik Viveza 2, Nik Define 2 and Photoshop CS5.

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Tuesday (31-May-2011) — New Jersey

I am resisting NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrome) Today.

While reading the commentary on Thom Hogon’s site today, I saw that B&H (and other vendors) had received new Nikon 500 mm and 600 mm f/4 VRII Super Telephoto lenses and still have some available for sale. These have been in short supply for a long time, and may be in even shorter supply for an even longer time since the earthquake in Japan. I held out and did not place an order (and thus didn’t help the economy by spending nearly $20K). This was hard, since I missed many great photo opportunities while on the Semester at Sea, Spring Enrichment Voyage — Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop (UTPW-II) earlier this month. Several of the folks attending the workshop had the larger 500 mm and 600 mm lenses and were able to get some great images that made those of us with lighter kits (70-300 or 80-400) jealous.