Six-Years Ago (20-September-2012) — Portugal

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 28: Sintra, Portugal.

I joined a field trip to see the Pena National Palace and Castle in Sintra. The Pena Palace is on the top of a hill overlooking Sintra. The following panorama shows the palace. Is was really intrigued by the sculpture above the entrance  “Allegoric Gate to the creation of the World” or “Arch of the Triton.” It appears to be King Neptune sitting in a giant clam shell looking down.

Panorama from the Pena National Palace in Sintra, Portugal. Composite of 19 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/11, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Panorama from the Pena National Palace in Sintra, Portugal. Composite of 19 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/11, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
“Allegoric Gate to the creation of the World” Arch of the Triton entryway to the Pena National Palace in Sintra, Portugal. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
“Allegoric Gate to the creation of the World” Arch of the Triton entryway to the Pena National Palace in Sintra, Portugal. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 35 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)


Individual images in the slide show can be viewed here.

Six-Years Ago (13-September-2012) — Belgium

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 21: Antwerp, Belgium.

Early Dawn Jupiter and Waning Crescent Moon Over the Antwerp Cathedral from the Deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 70 mm, f/5.6, 2 sec).

Early Dawn Jupiter and Waning Crescent Moon Over the Antwerp Cathedral from the Deck of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 70 mm, f/5.6, 2 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Dawn Jupiter and Waning Crescent Moon Over the Antwerp Cathedral from the Deck of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 70 mm, f/5.6, 2 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (14-August-2014) — Poland

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 75: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Gdansk, Poland.

Sunset through the barbed-wire fence at Westerplatte. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.

Sunset at Westerplatte in Gdansk, Poland. Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Voyage. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
Sunset at Westerplatte in Gdansk, Poland. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (31-July-2012) — Pennsylvania

Last Day at Merck.

I’ve now been retired from Merck for six years. I worked at Merck sites in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for over 27 years. Since I retired I have visited 40 different countries (several more than once) and 44 states. I have been at sea for over 7 months (two Semester at Sea — Enrichment Voyages;  three Semester at Sea — Semester Voyages (Spring, Summer, and Fall); and two Hurtigruten voyages (one in Norway, and one to Antarctica)). I returned to Argentina and Chile for a photography trip with Thom Hogan, and did two Iceland photography safari’s (one summer, one winter) with Mike Hagen. I also visited Cuba and Japan for street photography workshops with Steve Simon. During these travels I have taken over 1.5 MM images. Not all of the images have made it into my photoblog posts yet… While in New Jersey, I have been renovating my house, adding solar power and replacing the oil furnace and old air conditioner with a geothermal heating and cooling system. Doing my small part to become carbon neutral.

Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)
Kathy, my administrative assistant in my empty office on my last day of work at Merck. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera. (David J Mathre)

 

Four-Years Ago (28-July-2014) — Russia

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 58: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Saint Petersburg, Russia.

On our last day in Saint Petersburg, I attended a Master Cooking Class. I actually took more pictures than doing any cooking. The Russian food (Stuffed Cabbage and Borscht) we prepared was great, and I used the pictures to create this Time-Lapse Video.