Month: April 2017

Today (14-April-2017) — New Jersey

I took the cactus bloom out to get some real sunlight. I am hoping that the bees will find it. For the last month it has been indoors under LED grow-lights.

Cactus bloom out in the sunlight. Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 335 mm, f/5.4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Cactus bloom out in the sunlight. Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 335 mm, f/5.4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

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Seven-Years Ago (14-April-2010) — California

On the way to a Central California photography workshop, I stopped at Piedras Blancas Beach near San Simeon. The beach was full of elephant seals. I spent a couple of hours while the light was still good. I loved the expressions on there faces. This is my first attempt at embedding a slide-show of some of the images.

Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)


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Ten Years Ago (14-April-2007) — New Jersey

Walkabout on an early spring day in New Jersey. These are the flowers that the deer do not eat. The Pieris japonica (Lily of the Valley shrub) still exists, and is blooming ten years later. The Azalea shrubs that were next to it are all gone.

Cluster of Pieris japonica flowers. Also known as Lilly of the Valley shrub Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Cluster of Pieris japonica flowers. Also known as Lilly of the Valley shrub Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Pair of backyard daffodils. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Pair of backyard daffodils. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Forsythia blooms. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Forsythia blooms. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early dandelion flower. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early dandelion flower. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

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Today (13-April-2017) — New Jersey

One of my indoor cacti started blooming last night. The flower is bright red. It looks like there will be four more flowers. I am going to try to do a time-lapsed video as they open. I will also put the plant outside in the sun tomorrow to see if the local bees find it. Otherwise, I will need to try to manually pollinate the flower.

Cactus in Bloom. Indoor spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)
Cactus in Bloom. Indoor spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)
Cactus in Bloom. Indoor spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)
Cactus in Bloom. Indoor spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)

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Today (02-April-2017) — New Jersey

An early spring dandelion bloom. This one is staying close to the ground. After many days of rain and local flooding, the sun returned.

Early spring dandelion bloom. Backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early spring dandelion bloom. Backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

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