Seven-Years Ago (23-August-2012) — Canada

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 01: Embark and Depart from Halifax, Canada.

The students boarded the MV Explorer in shifts beginning at 08:00. It was an efficient process, and most everyone was on board by 11:00. We were told that after lunch that there would be a mandatory evacuation drill. Everyone was supposed to get their life-jacket and report to their evacuation station wearing long pants, long shirt, shoes, and a hat. Once we got to our station, the ship staff did a roll call to make sure everyone was accounted for and present. The drill is required before the ship can leave port. After the drill was completed, we were ready to leave at 17:00. Most everyone lined up on the open decks to watch the departure. The parents and relatives that came were all lined up on the roof of the port terminal. Michael Mariant was set up to take a series of images from Deck 7 that will be combined into a time-lapse video for the entire Fall 2012 Voyage.

Weather permitting I plan to take an early morning image during dawn or sunrise, and an evening image at sunset or during dusk. I did this exercise during the previous two Enrichment voyages on the MV Explorer, and got images with great colors.

Sunrise over the Lighthouse Island in Halifax Harbor from the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10-30 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 16.3 mm, f/4.2, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunrise over the Lighthouse Island in Halifax Harbor from the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10-30 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 16.3 mm, f/4.2, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sailboat and Lighthouse in the Halifax Harbor. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 93.5 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). Watercolor effect applied using a Topaz Simplify/Painterly filter. (David J Mathre)
Sailboat and Lighthouse in the Halifax Harbor. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 93.5 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). Watercolor effect applied using a Topaz Simplify/Painterly filter. (David J Mathre)
Evacuation/Lifeboat Drill. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 30 camera (ISO 400, 4.3 mm, f/4, 1/15 sec) (David J Mathre)
Evacuation/Lifeboat Drill. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 30 camera (ISO 400, 4.3 mm, f/4, 1/15 sec) (David J Mathre)
M/V Explorer Departure from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 10 mm, f/4.5, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
MV Explorer Departure from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 10 mm, f/4.5, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset Day 1 Fall Semester at Sea Voyage from Deck 7 of the M/V Explorer in the Atlantic Ocean. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 10 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset from Deck 7 of the MV Explorer in the Atlantic Ocean. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 10 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 10 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

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Eleven-Years Ago (18-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 1: Kailua Kona.

After checking into our hotel, a few of us walked down to the beach for sunset. I hoped to see the “Green Flash” like I did the last time I was in Hawaii. The conditions were not right, but I did get some good sunset images. I processed these images using newer, current tools. You can see earlier versions here.

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Sunset at Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs camera and 12-24 mm lens (ISO 100, 12 mm, f/9, 1/90 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

 

Five-Years Ago (09-June-2013) — Baltic Sea

Gone to See Europe. Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 44: At Sea.

Silhouette of a sailboat transiting the solar disk at sunset from the deck of the MV Explorer. Crossing the Baltic Sea from Stockholm to Copenhagen.


Individual images from the slideshow can be viewed here.

Ten-Years Ago (18-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 1: Kailua Kona.

Ten years ago, I arrived in Hawaii to attend a photography workshop with Thom Hogan. It was hard to believe the day before I was in Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in northern Colorado. At that time, I had only been taking pictures with a DSLR camera for just over one year. Soon after getting the camera, I found Thom’s web site which became a very helpful resource as I was learning to use the camera (much more useful than the Nikon manual provided with the camera). I purchased his guides for the D200 (and subsequently the guides for all of the new Nikon cameras I have used. These guides are by far the best resource for understanding the capabilities of the Nikon digital cameras. I saw a note in Thom’s web site that there was a late opening for his Hawaii workshop over Thanksgiving week. I signed up right away since I knew that there was a lot more that I needed to learn to become a better photographer. The first evening in Hawaii, we went down to the beach for sunset. I took these two pictures of boats with the sun setting behind them. Little did I know, it would become a contest between some friends on a Semester at Sea voyage to get images of boats or ships in front of the setting sun.

Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Day 1 of Thom Hogan's 2007 Hawaii Photography Workshop. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset of Kailua Harbor from Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. Day 1 of Thom Hogan's 2007 Hawaii Photography Workshop. Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm DX lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/9, HDR 9 images 1/800 to 1/20 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunset at Kailua Harbor from Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii.  Image taken with Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm DX lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/9, HDR 9 images 1/800 to 1/20 sec). (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (10-November-2016) — Cape May

Road Trip to Cape May.

Canadian 43′ Ketch SV Maitre “D” at anchor off the Coast Guard Station in Cape May. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm lens.

Canadian 43' Ketch SV Maitre "D" at anchor off the Coast Guard Station in Cape May. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm lens (ISO 200, 276 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (David J Mathre)
Canadian 43′ Ketch SV Maitre “D” at anchor off the Coast Guard Station in Cape May. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm lens (ISO 200, 276 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec) (David J Mathre)
Canadian 43' Ketch SV Maitre "D" at anchor off the Coast Guard Station in Cape May. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm lens (ISO 200, 347 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec) (David J Mathre)
Canadian 43′ Ketch SV Maitre “D” at anchor off the Coast Guard Station in Cape May. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm lens (ISO 200, 347 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec) (David J Mathre)