Seven-Years Ago (29-May-2010) — Puerto Rico

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 3: San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A dramatic sunrise, and then a rainbow over the Atlantic Ocean before arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We then spent the day doing a walkabout through the San Juan old city.

Atlantic Ocean sunrise from the deck of the M/V Explorer prior to arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Semester at Sea, Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/10, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Atlantic Ocean sunrise from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/10, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Rainbow and clouds over the Atlantic Ocean from the deck of the M/V Explorer prior to arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Semester at Sea, Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Rainbow and clouds over the Atlantic Ocean from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)


Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.

Seven-Years Ago (28-May-2010) — Atlantic Ocean

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 2: At Sea.

The first sunrise on this voyage. One of many reasons I got hooked on taking sunrise and sunset images while at sea.

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean from the deck of the M/V Explorer. Semester at Sea, Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage traveling between Naussau, Bahamas to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/16, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/16, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (13-March-2014) — Iceland

Gone to See Iceland 2014 – Winter Photography Workshop. Day 5: South East Coast.

East Coast Icelandic Sunrise from Hotel Smylabjörg. First one is a HDR composite of two images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and Zeiss 32 mm f/1.8 lens. The second is a sunrise image showing that the Hotel is on a working farm with plastic covered bales of hay  and was taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens. The third image is the tractor used to move the hay bales.

East Coast Icelandic Sunrise from Hotel Smylabjörg. HDR Composite of two images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and Zeiss 32 mm f/1.8 lens (ISO 200, 32 mm, f/16) (David J Mathre)
East Coast Icelandic Sunrise from Hotel Smylabjörg. HDR Composite of two images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and Zeiss 32 mm f/1.8 lens (ISO 200, 32 mm, f/16) (David J Mathre)
Plastic Covered Hay Bales at the Smylabjörg Farm and Guesthouse on the East Coast of Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/1.4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Plastic Covered Hay Bales at the Smylabjörg Farm and Guesthouse on the East Coast of Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/1.4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Morning View of a Valtra Tractor at the Smyrlabjorg Farm in Eastern Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/1.4, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre)
Early Morning View of a Valtra Tractor at the Smyrlabjorg Farm in Eastern Iceland. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 24 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/1.4, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre)

I am not providing the name or recommendation for the workshop leaders for this trip. One of the reasons I signed up  was the opportunity to photograph Northern Lights from Iceland. In 2013 I got some great images of the Aurora Borealis in Tromsö, Norway and hoped to do the same in Iceland. I arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland two days before the workshop and arranged a private tour with TripsByLocals.com to go Aurora Hunting. It didn’t look promising when we left the hotel (snowing an hour earlier). For the first 2 hours the sky remained mostly overcast. We then found a spot where the sky started to clear, and started to see the Aurora. It was cold and windy, but I found a place behind the van where I could set up a camera on a tripod. I was able to get 80 images which I used to create a time-lapsed video. The moon was almost full, and lit up the snow covered lava field in the foreground. It turned out that this was my only opportunity to get some good images of the Aurora on this trip. My father commented that it was not as good as the images I got in Tromsö last year. The weather for the Iceland workshop did not cooperate – lots of rain and snow with significant cloud cover. On the first day of the workshop we were supposed to fly from Reykjavik to Höfn but the weather in Höfn didn’t cooperate (even though it was sunny in Reykjavik). After spending some extra time waiting in the Reykjavik airport, it was decided that we would fly to Egilsstadir and take a several hour bus ride to Höfn. On the positive side, I got to see some of the Fjords on the east coast of Iceland, and on the negative side I lost a camera battery on the bus ride between Egilsstadir and Höfn when we had to change from a big 55 passenger bus to a smaller van. Once we got to the airport in Höfn we transferred to the van that would be our transportation for the rest of the workshop. Our first stop was the black sand beach on the coast next to the Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon. Every day when the tide goes out, ice that calved from the glacier in the lagoon goes out to sea, then when the tide comes in, the ice lands on the black sand beach. The makes for some great photo opportunities. However, as we arrived the rain started. We could only stay out for about 15 minutes before getting soaked in the cold and windy rain. We then went to Hotel Smyrlabjörg. I stayed at the same hotel last summer. The Icelandic food served at dinner was outstanding. When I went to sleep it was still raining. During the night the wind increased to the point it sounded like a train was passing outside my window. At about 01:30 AM I woke up and could see some stars in the sky outside my window. I went outside to get a look. It was still very windy. Windy to the point that I could barely stand up. I took a couple of pictures, and could see that the Northern Lights were starting – but there was no way I would be able to stay out in the gale force winds. So I went back to bed. The next morning at breakfast our workshop leader was gushing about how great the Aurora was between 03:30 AM and 05:30 AM. Unfortunately, he didn’t bother to wake the majority of the workshop participants even though he stayed out taking images for his portfolio. There were lots of apologies and excuses that he didn’t know what rooms we were in, but we were all staying in adjacent rooms. This turned out to be the one and only night that the Aurora were visible during the workshop. I was lucky to get the one night before the workshop to see and photograph the Aurora. Most of the others that spent thousands of dollars to see and photograph the Northern Lights as part of the workshop were very disappointed.

One-Year Ago (10-March-2016) — At Sea, Indian Ocean

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 65: At Sea, Indian Ocean.

Back at sea, crossing the Indian Ocean from Mauritius to South Africa. Yet another amazing dawn and sunrise. What else can I say? Best to view the panorama in full screen mode. The color of the clouds is real changing from a pastel pink/lavender to a fiery yellow/orange.

Sunrise panorama on board the MV World Odyssey. Day 65 of 103 of the Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage at sea between Mauritius and South Africa. Composite of 18 images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 100 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunrise panorama over the Indian Ocean from the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. Composite of 18 images taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 100 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Maria at dawn, only a few days since the hair was cut on board the MV World Odyssey. Day 65 of 103 of the Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage at sea between Mauritius and South Africa. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/2, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Student at dawn, only a few days since her hair was cut during the Neptune Day celebration on the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/2, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Maria and Charlette at dawn. The sky was really that color. From the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. Day 65 of 103 of the Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage at sea between Mauritius and South Africa. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/4.5, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Two students at dawn on the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey. The sky was really that color. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 23 mm, f/4.5, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (24-January-2016) — Japan

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 19: Arrival in Yokohama, Japan.

Sunrise and early morning from the deck of the MV World Odyssey docked at the Osanbaski Pier in Yokohama. We had to wait for immigration officials before we could leave the ship. Click on the image to see a wider view.

Yokohama Skyline Panorama at Dawn from the Deck of the MV World Odyssey while Docked at the Osanbashi Pier. Composite of six images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite created using AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Yokohama Skyline Panorama at Dawn from the Deck of the MV World Odyssey while Docked at the Osanbashi Pier. Composite of six images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 23 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite created using AutoPano Giga Pro. (David J Mathre)
Sun peaking out from behind the clouds. From the deck of the MV World Odyssey docked in Yokohama, Japan. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sun peaking out from behind the clouds. From the deck of the MV World Odyssey docked in Yokohama, Japan. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sun rising above the clouds. From the deck of the MV World Odyssey docked in Yokohama, Japan. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sun rising above the clouds. From the deck of the MV World Odyssey docked in Yokohama, Japan. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Statue catching the sun in a bowl on the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey while docked in Yokohama, Japan. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 100 mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Statue catching the sun in a bowl on the aft deck of the MV World Odyssey while docked in Yokohama, Japan. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 100 mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)