Day: August 26, 2016

Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Monarch Butterfly on a Thistle Bloom. Not sure about the moth/butterfly below it. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec).

Monarch Butterfly on a Thistle Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Monarch Butterfly on a Thistle Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)

It was too hot Wednesday when I did my walkabout through the Sourland Mountain Preserve. I didn’t try it yesterday, but gave it a short try today as I am still recovering from Lyme disease. I told myself that I wouldn’t stay out more than an hour, but ended up spending almost two hours. I have three goals at this time of the year: 1) Monarch Butterflies, 2) Hummingbird Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, and 3) Praying Mantis. Bonus points for Praying Mantis with prey. I got all three plus a couple of  bonus images I wasn’t expecting today. I ended up spending nearly two hours out on my walkabout and was really overheated when I got home. A short list of images I took : 1) Turtle; 2) Fritillary butterfly; 3) Hummingbird Clearwing moth; 4) Praying Mantis; 5) Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly mating; 6) Monarch butterfly; 7) Praying Mantis with a Tiger Swallowtail for lunch; 8) American Goldfinch; 9) Frog in the pond; and 10:) American Bittern. I ended up spending two hour in the Sourland Preserve, and was exhausted after getting home. It was way too hot.

Question for those that actually read this far. Should I only do single image in a post, or are albums/collections OK? If albums/collections are OK, only 4 images (so all will be seen, and users understand how to see the image in full screen mode) or as many images as I feel are good? Is it OK when I post images from this day of the year (going back 10 years)? Should they be as processed when first posted, or reprocessed using current photo editing tools (or both)? Is it OK when I post time-lapsed videos? It doesn’t seem like anyone views the time-lapse videos.

Both my “Image of the day” photo blog https://david.mathre.com
and my photo gallery http://davidmathre.com need significant updates and/or redesign. I am interested in comments about what does and doesn’t work as I start on a redesign project.

Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Painted Turtle Sunning Itself on a Rock in the Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Note the Canada Goose feather decoration. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/210 sec).

Turtle with a feather at the pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/210 sec). (David J Mathre)
Turtle with a feather at the pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/210 sec). (David J Mathre)

It was too hot Wednesday when I did my walkabout through the Sourland Mountain Preserve. I didn’t try it yesterday, but gave it a short try today as I am still recovering from Lyme disease. I told myself that I wouldn’t stay out more than an hour, but ended up spending almost two hours. I have three goals at this time of the year: 1) Monarch Butterflies, 2) Hummingbird Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, and 3) Praying Mantis. Bonus points for Praying Mantis with prey. I got all three plus a couple of  bonus images I wasn’t expecting today. I ended up spending nearly two hours out on my walkabout and was really overheated when I got home. A short list of images I took : 1) Turtle; 2) Fritillary butterfly; 3) Hummingbird Clearwing moth; 4) Praying Mantis; 5) Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly mating; 6) Monarch butterfly; 7) Praying Mantis with a Tiger Swallowtail for lunch; 8) American Goldfinch; 9) Frog in the pond; and 10:) American Bittern. I ended up spending two hour in the Sourland Preserve, and was exhausted after getting home. It was way too hot.

Question for those that actually read this far. Should I only do single image in a post, or are albums/collections OK? If albums/collections are OK, only 4 images (so all will be seen, and users understand how to see the image in full screen mode) or as many images as I feel are good? Is it OK when I post images from this day of the year (going back 10 years)? Should they be as processed when first posted, or reprocessed using current photo editing tools (or both)? Is it OK when I post time-lapsed videos? It doesn’t seem like anyone views the time-lapse videos.

Both my “Image of the day” photo blog https://david.mathre.com
and my photo gallery http://davidmathre.com need significant updates and/or redesign. I am interested in comments about what does and doesn’t work as I start on a redesign project.

Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) on a Thistle Bloom.  Image taken with a Fuji X-t1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/680 sec).

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on a Thistle Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/680 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on a Thistle Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/680 sec). (David J Mathre)

It was too hot Wednesday when I did my walkabout through the Sourland Mountain Preserve. I didn’t try it yesterday, but gave it a short try today as I am still recovering from Lyme disease. I told myself that I wouldn’t stay out more than an hour, but ended up spending almost two hours. I have three goals at this time of the year: 1) Monarch Butterflies, 2) Hummingbird Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, and 3) Praying Mantis. Bonus points for Praying Mantis with prey. I got all three plus a couple of  bonus images I wasn’t expecting today. I ended up spending nearly two hours out on my walkabout and was really overheated when I got home. A short list of images I took : 1) Turtle; 2) Fritillary butterfly; 3) Hummingbird Clearwing moth; 4) Praying Mantis; 5) Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly mating; 6) Monarch butterfly; 7) Praying Mantis with a Tiger Swallowtail for lunch; 8) American Goldfinch; 9) Frog in the pond; and 10:) American Bittern. I ended up spending two hour in the Sourland Preserve, and was exhausted after getting home. It was way too hot.

Question for those that actually read this far. Should I only do single image in a post, or are albums/collections OK? If albums/collections are OK, only 4 images (so all will be seen, and users understand how to see the image in full screen mode) or as many images as I feel are good? Is it OK when I post images from this day of the year (going back 10 years)? Should they be as processed when first posted, or reprocessed using current photo editing tools (or both)? Is it OK when I post time-lapsed videos? It doesn’t seem like anyone views the time-lapse videos.

Both my “Image of the day” photo blog https://david.mathre.com
and my photo gallery http://davidmathre.com need significant updates and/or redesign. I am interested in comments about what does and doesn’t work as I start on a redesign project.

Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

The Elusive American Bittern Hunting Frogs a the Sourland Mountain Preserve Pond.  Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec).

About two weeks ago, I dropped my two Fuji X-T1 cameras off for service. One wouldn’t turn on, and since I am home for awhile the other one to fix the light pollution issue. There was a Fuji recall to fix the light pollution issue soon after I purchased the camera, but with my travel schedule never had time to be without the camera. Five days later I was told both cameras needed new power supply modules, and the one with the light pollution issue needed a new top cover ( ~$250 and ~$300). I then got a call that when they opened up the camera that wouldn’t turn on that there was internal water damage, and that the camera was not repairable. So much for weather resistance. The only time that camera got wet was the mist at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. And even then it was in a rain cover. So I ended up getting one working camera back. The first thing I noticed when doing my afternoon walkabout in the Sourland Mountain Preserve was how slow the Fuji X-T1 camera was in acquiring focus, and that it had a hard time auto-focusing for close targets. I would have to manually focus, and lost many shots. Two weeks of using my Nikon DSLRs reminded me of how good they are even if they are are heavier. Even the mirrorless Nikon 1 series of cameras focus faster (but don’t have same image quality for large prints).
End of Rant.

Elusive American Bittern at the Pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Elusive American Bittern at the Pond. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/600 sec). (David J Mathre)

Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Praying Mantis Waiting For a Meal in a Thistle Bush. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/70 sec)

Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/70 sec). (David J Mathre)
Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/70 sec). (David J Mathre)

It was too hot Wednesday when I did my walkabout through the Sourland Mountain Preserve. I didn’t try it yesterday, but gave it a short try today as I am still recovering from Lyme disease. I told myself that I wouldn’t stay out more than an hour, but ended up spending almost two hours. I have three goals at this time of the year: 1) Monarch Butterflies, 2) Hummingbird Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, and 3) Praying Mantis. Bonus points for Praying Mantis with prey. I got all three plus a couple of  bonus images I wasn’t expecting today. I ended up spending nearly two hours out on my walkabout and was really overheated when I got home. A short list of images I took : 1) Turtle; 2) Fritillary butterfly; 3) Hummingbird Clearwing moth; 4) Praying Mantis; 5) Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly mating; 6) Monarch butterfly; 7) Praying Mantis with a Tiger Swallowtail for lunch; 8) American Goldfinch; 9) Frog in the pond; and 10:) American Bittern. I ended up spending two hour in the Sourland Preserve, and was exhausted after getting home. It was way too hot.

Question for those that actually read this far. Should I only do single image in a post, or are albums/collections OK? If albums/collections are OK, only 4 images (so all will be seen, and users understand how to see the image in full screen mode) or as many images as I feel are good? Is it OK when I post images from this day of the year (going back 10 years)? Should they be as processed when first posted, or reprocessed using current photo editing tools (or both)? Is it OK when I post time-lapsed videos? It doesn’t seem like anyone views the time-lapse videos.

Both my “Image of the day” photo blog https://david.mathre.com
and my photo gallery http://davidmathre.com need significant updates and/or redesign. I am interested in comments about what does and doesn’t work as I start on a redesign project.