Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 2: At Sea.
We were out on deck early to catch the sunrise. There was a bit of confusion about what time sunrise would be since the ship changed to Central Mexican time zone overnight. Was the sun going to rise at 05:07 hr or 07:07 hr. It turned out to be 07:07 hr, which makes sense since we are on the west side of the time zone. We then spent the day in class: “Welcome Orientation & Workshop Introduction”, and “Components to Travel Photography” taught by Michael Mariant. We are scheduled to arrive in Cabo San Lucas tomorrow morning. At the end of the day a fog bank came in just before the sun set.
Sunrise over Isla Cedros Mexico. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec).Pacific Sunset in Fog off the Mexican Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec).
[Posts will be limited while on the M/V Explorer due to narrow internet bandwidth.]
Gone to See Central America and the Panama Canal. Semester at Sea Spring 2011 Enrichment Voyage. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop II with Michael Mariant. Day 1: Depart San Diego; Travel to Ensenada, Mexico; Embarkation on the MV Explorer.
HDR composite of images of Sunrise over San Diego taken from my hotel room. Three images were taken with a Leica X1 camera (+2, 0, -2 EV) just as the sun started to show above the mountains to the east. The first image was processed with HDR Express, using its Artistic default. The second image was processed with Photomatix Pro using the Compressor Deep settings.
We left San Diego at about 11:00 by bus for Ensenada, Mexico. Once we arrived at the cruise line port we embarked on the MV Explorer to begin the Spring Enrichment Voyage to Central America and Panama Canal. It was good to see many friends from the Caribbean Enrichment Voyage and Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop I (UTPW-I) on board the ship.
After the ship departed Ensenada for Cabo San Lucas there was a small green flash at sunset. The image was taken with a Leica V-Lux 20 camera (200 mm equiv). This is a good omen for the Voyage!!!
San Diego Sunrise. Composite HDR Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/11, 1/13 sec +/- 2EV). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, HDR Express (Artistic), Topaz Denoise, and converted to jpg with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)San Diego Sunrise. Composite HDR Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/11, 1/13 sec +/- 2EV). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Photomatix (Compressor Deep), and converted to jpg with Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)M/V Explorer Upper Mast. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4.5, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)Green Flash at Sunset over the Pacific Ocean off Mexico. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 20 camera (ISO 80, 49.2 mm, f/6.3, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
[Posts will be limited while on the M/V Explorer due to narrow internet bandwidth.]
Gone to See Hawaii, Maui Day 3: Haleakala National Park.
Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station: Comparison of HDR Image Processing Programs. I used images taken at sunset last year to do a comparison of HDR (high dynamic range) processing programs. The first image is the original image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). The next three images are HDR composites from 5 exposures (+2, +1, 0, -1, -2 EV) using Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro, Photomatix Pro, and Nik HDR Efex Pro. The final image was processed using DxO Optics Pro 6 using a “single-shot” HDR technique. All of the new HDR programs have multiple, if not many presets as well as many controls to optimize the image. The HDR programs have come a long way over the last 3-4 years, where the HDR effects were often overboard. But then again, HDR can recover an uninteresting image i.e. “A derelict fishing boat along the Alaska Canada Highway”
Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). Original image, no HDR (David J Mathre)Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). Photoshop CS5 HDR (5 images) (David J Mathre)Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). NIK HDR Pro (5 images) (David J Mathre)Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). Single shot HDR with Dx0 Pro (David J Mathre)Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). HDR with Photomatix Pro (5 images) (David J Mathre)Sunset over Haleakala Satellite Tracking Station from Pu’U’Ula’Ula peak in Haleakala National Park, Maui Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 100, f/16, 1/10 sec). Photomatix HDR (5 images) (David J Mathre)
After the Thunderstorm. View looking south after a late spring thunderstorm in New Jersey. The sky cleared and there was a view of the moon over a thunderhead being lit up by the setting sun.
Moon over Thunderhead at Sundown. Last Day of Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 200, 50 mm, f/11, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Color Efex (Tonal Contrast), Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Gone to See America 2010. Big Sur Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 1: Afternoon/Evening.
For the Afternoon, we spent time at Redwood Gulch Falls. The light levels within the forest near the falls ranged from very bright to very dark — well beyond the capability of DSLR sensors. Here I used Singh-Ray filters (to smooth out the water flow) and HDR (took 5 images under and over exposed) which were then combined using Photomatix. Later on we traveled to Sand Dollar beach. Our first exercise was to use filters at the beach to give the waves a soft ethereal effect. As the sun set over the Pacific ocean, I used HDR again to adapt to the wide range of light.
Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.Redwood Gulch Falls, Los Padres National Forest, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 sec). Singh-Ray Filter. HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 5 sec).Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec).Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec).Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 8 sec).Long Exposure Exercise at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens and Singh-Ray Filter (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 15 sec).Sunset at Sand Dollar Beach, Big Sur Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 100, 50 mm, f/16, 1/5, 1/10, 1/20, 1/40, 1/80 sec). HDR Composite of 5 images using Photomatix Pro.
