Friday (05-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Something other than just flowers and wildflowers today. I saw my first Clearwing Hummingbird Moth this year feeding on some small blue Forget-me-not flowers. One of my photography mentors once told me that the best image is behind you — so when I turned around I saw my first Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly this year feeding on an orange Zinnia flower. I may not have had the best camera or lens for these subjects, but as someone else said “the best camera is the one in your hand”. I’d been waiting for both the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth and the Swallowtail Butterflies since planting the wildflower meadows earlier this spring. Later in the evening, while sitting on the back patio I saw a real hummingbird and caught a couple of pictures before it flew off. I will be watching for all three the rest of the summer, and will also be on the lookout for the Monarch Butterflies.

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth feeding on Forget-me-not. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly feeding on Zinnia. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hummingbird. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (56.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (50.14 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. It was cloudy out much of the day, so I generated less power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.

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Seven-Years Ago (01-June-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park.

Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lilly Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Two-Years Ago (03-June-2010) — Trinidad

Gone to See the Caribbean Islands. Semester at Sea Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 8: Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Hummingbird in the Rain at the Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec).

Hummingbird in the Rain, Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird in the Rain, Asa Wright Nature Center, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Friday (16-September-2011) — California

Gone to See California — SIRNA Goodby.

While in the San Francisco area I had the opportunity to visit and have dinner with a couple of  former colleagues that now live in the Bay Area. In the back yard one of their Yucca plant was blooming. There was a humming bird working the flowers. I never got a picture of the humming bird in the flowers, but did capture a sillouete of it in the some other trees. These images were all taken with a Leica X1 or D-Lux 5 camera.

Yucca in Bloom. San Mateo CA. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 5 camera (ISO 80, 19.2 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Yucca in Bloom. San Mateo CA. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 5 camera (ISO 80, 19.2 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird. San Mateo CA. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 5 camera (ISO 160, 19.2 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird. San Mateo CA. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 5 camera (ISO 160, 19.2 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Francis and Alex. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Francis and Alex. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (01-June-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park.

While visiting Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park I saw a number of male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. It looked like they were setting up territories as they would perch on a branch and watch the others in the vicinity. Every now and then they would dive toward the others in an attempt to get some more space.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 500, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 500, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.