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

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

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).

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Sunset and Sailboat off Kona Beach, Big Island Hawaii. (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (30-December-2014) — South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/2015. Hurtigruten Christmas Voyage on the MS Fram. Day 15: South Shetland Islands.

Sailboat Anchored Near the Argentine Research Station at Half Moon Island in the South Shetland Islands off Antarctica. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/10, 1/640 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, and Photoshop CC 2014.

Sailboat Anchored Near the Argentine Research Station at Half Moon Island in the South Shetland Islands off Antarctica. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/10, 1/640 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, and Photoshop CC 2014 (David J Mathre)
Sailboat Anchored Near the Argentine Research Station at Half Moon Island in the South Shetland Islands off Antarctica. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/10, 1/640 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, and Photoshop CC 2014 (David J Mathre)

Friday (07-June-2013) — Sweden

Gone to See Europe. Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 42: Stockholm, Sweden.

Silhouette of a Sailboat at Sunrise on the way to Stockholm. The image was taken from my cabin. The sun rises very early (before 04:00) this far north. Trying to capture both sunrise and sunset everyday is a challenge.

Sailboat at Sunrise on the way to Stockholm. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera from my cabin on the MV Explorer (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage. (David J Mathre)
Sailboat at Sunrise on the way to Stockholm. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera from my cabin on the MV Explorer (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage. (David J Mathre)

Thursday (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 onboard 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-lapsed 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)

.

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

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

It was just four years ago that I arrived in Hawaii to attend a photography workshop with Thom Hogan. The day before I was in Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in northern Colorado. I had only been shooting with Nikon DSLR cameras for a year at that time.  Soon after getting the first DSLR camera — a Nikon D200, I found Thom’s web site which became a very helpful resource. There was much I needed to learn about using a DSLR camera. I purchased Thom’s guides for the D200 (and subsequently the guides for the D2xs, D300, D700, D3, D3x, D3s). These guides are by far the best resource for understanding the capabilities of the Nikon digital cameras. Then one day in October 2007, I saw a note on 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. I was working in Boulder Colorado at that time (which was closer than New Jersey) and a great way to use some of my vacation time.

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. 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)