Month: November 2017

Three-Years Ago (28-November-2014) — Florida

Gone to See Florida Fall 2014 Road Trip. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Blue Heron appearing to walk on water as it comes in for a landing along Blackpoint Wildlife Drive. I’ve also included a slide show with some of the other wildlife present that day: Alligator, Anhinga, Black Vulture, Double-breasted Cormorant, Great Egret, Hawk, Orange Butterfly, Osprey, Ring-billed Gull, Roseate Spoonbill, Tricolored Heron, Turkey Vulture, and White Ibis. Note that some of the images are graphic.

Great Blue Heron Walking on Water. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 500, 500 mm, f/7, 1/4000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Great Blue Heron Walking on Water. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 500, 500 mm, f/7, 1/4000 sec). (David J Mathre)


Six-Years Ago (27-November-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey: Talking Doe.

I was testing the sharpness of the Nikon 600 mm f/4 lens coupled with a TC-E III 20 teleconverter (effective 1200 mm, f/8 aperture).

Talking Doe. Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens with a TC-EIII 2x teleconverter (ISO 1400, 1200 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Talking Doe. Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens with a TC-EIII 2x teleconverter (ISO 1400, 1200 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sunday (26-November-2017) — New Jersey

Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey: Silver Spoon.

I was out in the backyard using a rototiller to prepare a new section for the expanding wildflower meadow. The land had been a farm years ago, but this section had become overgrown with brush. The brush was cleared last year, and this summer the section was covered with a black tarp to solarize the soil (kill the weeds, especially the invasive “mile-a-minute” vine). The rototiller found lots of rocks, and roots from the brush. At one point, I noticed something silver being thrown back by rototiller. It turned out to be a spoon. The rototiller blades did a bit of damage to the spoon. I brought it inside, and washed it off. The only identification of the spoon was an imprint on the back of the handle “Oneida Silversmiths”. After doing some research online, I think I identified the design of the spool as Oneida silverplate “Clairhill-Fairhill (1978). One site had it on sale for less than eight dollars. So, not an antique 🙁 . The house was built around that time, but how the spoon got 200 feet behind the house is a mystery.

Oneida Silversmiths Spoon. Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec) (David J Mathre)
Oneida Silversmiths Spoon. Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec) (David J Mathre)
Oneida Silversmiths Spoon. Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec) (David J Mathre)
Oneida Silversmiths Spoon. Backyard Archaeology in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/3 sec) (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (26-November-2014) — Florida

Moon, Palm Tree Silhouettes, and Orange Contrail Clouds at Sunset.

Another case of “the best camera is the one with you”. I’d never seen contrails lined up like this before with the added bonus of happening just after sunset. View from the Old Northeast section of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Moon, Palm Tree Silhouettes, and Orange Contrail Clouds at Sunset in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm wide-angle zoom lens (ISO 400, 18 mm, f/6.4, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Moon, Palm Tree Silhouettes, and Orange Contrail Clouds at Sunset in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm wide-angle zoom lens (ISO 400, 18 mm, f/6.4, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)

Two-Years Ago (25-November-2015) — Cuba

Gone to See Cuba 2015: Departure.

While departing Cuba on an Eastern Airline flight from Havana International Airport, I noticed a DC-10 parked next to the runway. The plane was missing its engines, and looked like it had been in a fire. I wonder if it is a training prop for emergency drills?

DC-10 (shell) Parked at the Havana International Airport. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 23 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec) (David J Mathre)
DC-10 (shell) Parked at the Havana International Airport. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 23 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 23 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec) (David J Mathre)