Today (18-April-2017) — New Jersey

After spending several days outdoors in the sun, the cactus flower closed. I brought it back inside. Next thing I knew there was a Stink bug sucking on the flower. I have read that Stink bugs are vegetarian, and have pictures of them on a grapefruit slice and on my cactus before.

Stink bug on an old cactus 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, 1/125 sec) + SB-910 flash). (David J Mathre)
Stink bug on an old cactus 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, 1/125 sec) + SB-910 flash). (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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Five-Years Ago (11-March-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Winter Nature in New Jersey.

Some more late winter flowers from my daily walkabout. There is hope for spring. Images taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens. I got to really like this lightweight camera. A lot of folks consider the Nikon 1 mirrorless cameras as toys that a professional would never use.

White Snow Drop Bloom. Backyard winter nature in New Jersey -- spring must be coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Snow Drop Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Purple Crocus Bloom. Backyard winter nature in New Jersey -- spring must be coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Purple Crocus Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodil Bloom. Backyard winter nature in New Jersey -- spring must be coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)
Daffodil Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera and 30-110 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 110 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)

Friday (01-January-2016) — Florida

Gone to See America. December/January 2015/2016 Florida Road Trip. Day 9: St. Petersburg.

Walkabout on New Year’s Day in St. Petersburg. Multicolored Fire Hydrant, Sunflower, and Fig on a Vine. Images taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens.

Multi-colored fire hydrant in the "Old Northeast" section of St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/7, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Multi-colored fire hydrant in the “Old Northeast” section of St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/7, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunflower bloom at an urban farm in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 200, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Sunflower bloom at an urban farm in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 200, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lone fig on a branch at an urban farm in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 200, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lone fig on a branch at an urban farm in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 55-135 mm lens (ISO 200, 135 mm, f/4.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (18-June-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Spring Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

Firefly Trails. I had seen the fireflies in the Yucca flowers during the day so set up a camera to see them at night. Composite of 311 images (~156 minutes) taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, and composite processed in Photoshop CC.

The amazing thing — the deer haven’t eaten the Yucca flowers yet!!!

Firefly Trails in the Yucca flowers Composite of 311 images (~156 minutes) taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, and composite processed in Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails in the Yucca flowers Composite of 311 images (~156 minutes) taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, and composite processed in Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)