August, 2019 - David Mathre Photography

Ten-Years Ago (25-August-2009) — North Dakota

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 04: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.

I woke up early for a sunrise shoot. A thick fog enveloped the campground where I parked the RV. I packed up and drove the scenic drive towards the River Bend, and Oxbow overlooks hoping to get above the fog. It was still dawn when I arrived at the River Bend viewpoint where there is a stone building overlooking the Little Missouri river valley. The valley was still covered with fog, but the sky above had some beautiful pastel colors (Belt of Venus, and the earth shadow). I drove a bit further until the sun started to be visible, and got several shots of the sun rising above the fog filled valley. When I arrived at the Oxbow overlook, there was a faint rainbow because of the fog. I find rainbows always difficult to photograph. Then remembering something Winston Hall taught me “always look behind you, because that is where the best picture is” — and sure enough there was a Bighorn Ram coming over a grass covered ridge. Quickly switching for a camera with a telephoto lens, I got some great silhouette images including one with the Bighorn in midair as it started to run away. Once the show was done, I drove back to the park entrance. The fog was beginning to rise when I came upon some Bison crossing the road, and into the fog.

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Fog Rainbow and Photographer's Shadow. Little Missouri river overlook. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 14-28 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre) — Fog Rainbow and Photographer’s Shadow. Little Missouri river overlook. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 14-28 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre)

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Twelve-Years Ago (25-August-2007) — Colorado

Summertime Nature in Rocky Mountain National Park.

It only took me twelve years to figure out what type of bird this was. Clark’s Nutcracker. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec).

Clark's Nutcracker. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre) — Clark’s Nutcracker. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)

Saturday (24-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

It was much cooler, so I spent the morning catching up on yard work. The electric fence (not charged yet) is already helping the Forsythia and Lilac shrubs we planted earlier this spring. They have new leaves that the deer haven’t nibbled. I am in the process of installing a drip hose to water both these shrubs and the daffodil patch (using rainwater collected in barrels). The grass hadn’t been mowed in two weeks, so that also had to be done. Also lots of mile-a-minute vine weeds needed to be pulled. The walkway from the front to the patio was overgrown with tall Cosmos and Sunflowers that needed to be trimmed back. Time-lapse video recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera and the video processed with Photoshop CC (including the Little Planet view).

After the yard work I did my daily walkabout with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. The deer wondered why I mowed their lawn. In addition to the last week being hot, we only got 0.42 inches of rain. The water level in the pond is way down. Kermit the Bullfrog was only partially submerged in the middle of the pond in a section that is normally a couple feet deep. I only saw one Hummingbird Clearwing moth (white legs) feeding on a Bee Balm flower. The only recent new flower is a bright red Indian Paintbrush. Finally a beat up Monarch butterfly.

Fawn and Doe. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Kermit the Bullfrog in the Pond. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Hummingbird Clearwing moth feeding on a Bee Balm flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Indian Paintbrush Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Monarch Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec) (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (48.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (71.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cooler outside and the sun was out most of the day for a net surplus of 23.7 kWh. Laundry used 3.7 kWh.

One note — the WaterFurnace Symphony software indicated the system used 3 kWh, however the Sense Energy monitor indicated that the geothermal heat pump used 5.4 kWh. I tend to believe the Sense numbers since they more closely the energy being recorded at the external power company (PSE&G) meters. I’ve asked the WaterFurnace folks in the past about the discrepancy, but they didn’t have a good answer. The Sense folks told me they thought that the WaterFurnace/Symphony system was only measuring one phase of the energy even though the system is powered by the 220V circuit (using two phases). I wish an electrical engineer that understands this better would correct me here.

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Seven-Years Ago (24-August-2012) — North Atlantic Ocean

Gone to see Europe. Semester at Sea. Fall 2012 Semester Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 02: At Sea, North Atlantic Ocean.

Waiting for the Sun to set from the aft deck of the M/V Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 122 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec).

Sunset at Sea on the M/V Explorer. Fall 2012 Semester at Sea Voyage. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 122 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Time-lapse video of the sun setting from the aft deck of the MV Explorer. Images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro. Time-lapse video created using Photoshop CC. Two versions first without additional processing, and the second applying a warping filter using After Effects CC to minimize motion while hand holding the camera on a moving ship.

Ten-Years Ago (24-August-2009) — North Dakota

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 03: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.

Jousting Bison in the Campground at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I took the picture standing next to my RV. I was glad that I was sleeping in my RV, and not in a tent like the folks across from my campsite. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm lens (ISO 900, 105 mm, f/5.3, 1/60 sec).

Male Bison Fighting in the Campground at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 18-200 mm lens. (David J. Mathre) — Male Bison Fighting in the Campground at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm lens. (David J. Mathre)