August, 2011 - David Mathre Photography

One-Year Ago (10-August-2010) — Nevada

Gone to See America August 2010 Road Trip. Day 10: Great Basin National Park, Nevada.

Zombie Sunflower Farmer. On the highway just outside of Great Basin National Park.

Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 220 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec) (David J Mathre) — Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 220 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec)

Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec) (David J Mathre) — Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec)

Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec) (David J Mathre) — Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec)

Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/2.8, 1/4000 sec) (David J Mathre) — Zombie Sunflower Farmer. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 100, 45 mm, f/2.8, 1/4000 sec)

Tuesday (09-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Backyard Deer Nursery. The deer population in New Jersey is out of control. Because of all of the damage to gardens and shrubbery, deer have been labeled “rats with hooves”. The only natural predator of deer in New Jersey, and many other states is the automobile (been there, done that, don’t want to do it again). On the other hand, let nature be — and use it as a subject to photograph.

When I got home this evening, there was a Doe working the shrubbery on my driveway. Further down the driveway I saw a Buck (with a larger rack) and two fawns resting in the shade. I got a few images out of the car window, but nothing special. When I went onto the deck to check on my tomatoes, I saw many Fawns and a Doe. By the time I got the camera up the Seven Fawns started running to their den mother. When I tell folks that I can come home and find a dozen deer in my yard, they often roll their eyes in disbelief. Tonight there were a dozen all viewed with 30 minutes. The following “grab” images are of the seven Fawns and their den mother.

Goggle+ For anyone still reading this, it was about a year ago that my Facebook account was hacked and started sending out a lot of junk in my name. It also appeared that my computer was compromised and was sending a lot of data to external sites. The only way I could stop it was to delete my FB account, and restore my computer hard drive to a point several days earlier. It was at that point that I started my “image of the day” photoblog using WordPress and PhotoShelter. A few days ago, I got an invite to join the beta of Google Plus (Google+ or G+). So far it looks interesting. I don’t think that it will replace my “image of the day” photoblog.

Seven Fawns Running and the Den Mother Doe in My Backyard. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 220, 72 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre) — Seven Fawns Running and the Den Mother Doe in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 220, 72 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec).

Seven Fawns Running and the Den Mother Doe in My Backyard. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 72 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre) — Seven Fawns Running and the Den Mother Doe in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 72 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec).

I’m getting tired of doing deer and need a new subject. Thoughts? Reply as a comment or send me an e-mail.

Monday (08-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Young Fawn Hiding in the Woods. When I got home, I saw the rabbit in the same location as this morning. I then saw this fawn hiding in the woods. Its mother left it in the shade. It stayed perfectly still nearly camouflaged while I took some pictures. It was relatively dark in the shade, and I had to push the ISO to 1600. Even then, the exposure times were 1/25 and 1/40 sec. It is a good thing that the lens has VR such that I could get a relatively sharp image.

Fawn Hiding in the Woods. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre) — Fawn Hiding in the Woods. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec).

Fawn Hiding in the Woods. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/25 sec). (David J Mathre) — Fawn Hiding in the Woods. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/25 sec).

Monday (08-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Rabbit with Bloodshot Eyes. As I was leaving for work I saw this rabbit next to the car. Since it was still relatively dark out, I used the pop-up flash on my D700 camera. Rabbit eyes are relatively big and reflect back bright red — making the rabbit look almost satanic, and related to the New Jersey devil.

Rabbit with Bloodshot Eyes. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) using the pop-up flash. (David J Mathre) — Rabbit with Bloodshot Eyes. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) using the pop-up flash.

Monday (08-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Cicada Invasion. The last few weeks it has been very loud as the male cicadas sing their song. I can hear them, but have not climbed high enough in the trees to get some images. I did notice a large number of holes in the ground below one of my Maple trees. Following up the tree trunk, I did find a number of cicada exoskeletons from their final molt. Based on the dried mud on the exoskeleton, they must have climbed out of the ground just after the last rain storm.

Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt. Backyard Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec) (David J Mathre) — Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec)

Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt on a Maple Leaf. Backyard Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro + TC-E III teleconverter (ISO 100, 210 mm, f/45, 1/60 sec) and SB900 flash. (David J Mathre) — Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt on a Maple Leaf. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro + TC-E III teleconverter (ISO 100, 210 mm, f/45, 1/60 sec) and SB900 flash.

Cicada Tunnel Exit. Backyard Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1250, 145 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre) — Cicada Tunnel Exit. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1250, 145 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec).

Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt. Backyard Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/511, 1/60 sec) and pop-up flash. (David J Mathre) — Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/511, 1/60 sec) and pop-up flash.

Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt. Backyard Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro + TC-E III teleconverter (ISO 100, 210 mm, f/22, 1/60 sec) and SB900 flash. (David J Mathre) — Cicada Exoskeleton Post Final Molt. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro + TC-E III teleconverter (ISO 100, 210 mm, f/22, 1/60 sec) and SB900 flash.