Day: July 2, 2011

Saturday (02-July-2011) — New Jersey

Early Summer Nature in New Jersey.

Some images that I took on a walkabout this morning in the Sourland Mountain Preserve. This was a test to see what I could photograph with a 500 mm f/4 lens on a monopod. The minimum focus distance for the lens is 12.6 feet (4 m) which is a challenge for close up images of insects.

The first image is a close-up of a Dragonfly. The second is what I believe is a Blue Grosbeak. The third is a Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on Milkweed flowers. The fourth and fifth images are Snowberry Clearwing Moths (Thanks to Rick Sidler for the ID and link). It is larger (longer) than a Bumblebee, but its wings are small and transparent. It also was working the Milkweed flowers. The sixth image is Kermit the Bullfrog.

Dragonfly at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Dragonfly at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Blue Grosbeak? at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Blue Grosbeak? at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Snowberry Clearwing Moth at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Snowberry Clearwing Moth at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Snowberry Clearwing Moth at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 500 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Snowberry Clearwing Moth at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 500 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.
Kermit the Bullfrog at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Kermit the Bullfrog at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.