Road Scholar “Photography in the Southwest” Workshop Day 1. Kelly Place & Canyon of the Ancients National Monument.
The first full day of an Road Scholar/Elderhostel photography workshop at Kelly Place — a Bed & Breakfast near Cortez, Colorado. This is a great location in McElmo Canyon, quiet and remote. It borders Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. I was attending the workshop with my Father and Brother. I went out on my own in the morning to take some pictures of Sleeping Ute mountain. After lunch walked around the site to look at some of the historical buildings and then went for a short hike into Canyon of the Ancients National Monument which is right next to Kelly’s Place. After it got dark, I set up a camera to take some star trail images.
Sleeping Ute Mountain and moon panorama on an early winter morning at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 20 mm, f/16, 1/1.7 sec). (David J Mathre)Window looking out at Sleeping Ute Mountain and wood ladder to the Kiva at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens and interior fill flash (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Wood ladder to the underground Kiva at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)Sleeping Ute Mountain and red back-hoe on an early winter morning at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 22 mm, f/16, 1/10 sec). (David J Mathre)Weeds with morning dew on at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 200, 130 mm, f/2.8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)Old tree on a hill at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)Juniper berries at Kelley’s Place near Cortez, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 200, 70 mm, f/11, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Larger size images from the slideshow can be viewed and purchased here.
Gone to See Norway 2013. Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 11: Tromsø.
On our first night in Tromsø, Anna – a local photographer and her husband took us to a couple of locations to view northern lights. The first place, Telegrafbukta is not far (maybe 45 minutes walking) from the center of Tromsø along the fjord. I got many great images of the northern lights. I am not exactly sure what the walkway going into the cold water is for, unless they have a polar bear swimming club. This is obviously a favorite place for locals to view northern lights on a Friday night. There were at least a dozen folks just up the hill. I’ve reprocessed the images, and used them to create a star trails image, and a time-lapse video.
Northern Lights from Telegrafbukta Beach in Tromsø Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/2, 8 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (David J Mathre)
Individual images in the slide show can be viewed here.
Northern Lights and Star Trails from Telegrafbukta Beach in Tromsø Norway. Composite of 68 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/2, 8 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Last year I was contacted by Condé Nast to use one of these images in a publication about European beaches. I told them that they could use the image if they downloaded it from my PhotoShelter Image Gallery and paid the appropriate rate (depends on size and publication circulation). I guess they didn’t like the rate suggested…
We then went to Kvaløya (Whale) Island for the 2nd image. The mountain on the right is lit up with a yellow color from sodium lights at the home near the water. It was a lot easier to photography the northern lights when on solid ground with a tripod. On the ship, even with a tripod you get the motion of the ship.
Early Morning (00:02 AM) Northern Lights on Kvaløy Island near Tromsø. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/2, 8 sec). (David J Mathre)
Earlier in the evening it didn’t look promising for a clear sky. I checked again after midnight, and did see Orion and some other stars. I set up two cameras same as the previous clear nights to take images for star trails, and if lucky catch a launch of a rocket from Virginia at 04:01. Unfortunately, I only got 15 minutes of clear skies before the clouds rolled back in. I did check again at 04:00 for 5 minutes, but it was still overcast and I didn’t see the launch.
Star Trails (00:45-00:59). Composite of images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 19mm f/4 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 19 mm, f/5.6, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)Star Trails (00:45-00:59). Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 10 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Second night in a row the sky was clear, so I set up two cameras to record the night sky (and hope to see some meteors).
Night Sky Over New Jersey. Composite of images (19:00-05:29) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 19 mm PC-E lens (ISO 200, 19 mm, f/5.6, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Night Sky Over New Jersey. Composite of images (19:00-05:29) taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 10 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.
The sky was clear, so I set up two cameras to record the night sky (and hope to see some meteors).
Night Sky Over New Jersey. Composite of images (18:00-05:20) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 19 mm PC-E lens (ISO 800, 19 mm, f/5.6, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Night Sky Over New Jersey. Composite of images (18:00-04:59) taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 10 mm, f/5.6, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.
