Author: David Mathre

I am a scientist by training (Eckerd College, BSc; Caltech, Ph.D.). I worked for 27 years as a Chemist in the Pharmaceutical Industry developing processes to manufacture medicines for human and animal health. I now spend my time as a photographer and world traveler. My interests include the natural world, wildlife, landscapes, sky, and seascapes, travel, and astrophotography. I look for unique ways of viewing the world and presenting my images. I have traveled to over 55 countries in six continents, often on Semester at Sea voyages. While at home in New Jersey, I spend time on home renovation and expansion of a wildflower garden/meadow.

Friday (05-October-2012) — New Jersey

Fall Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve.

The sky finally cleared. I was wondering if the rain in Spain (which fell on more than the plains) followed me back home. I went to Sourland Mountain Preserve to see what changed since I left for the voyage in mid-August. September is usually the time to see the Monarch butterflies as they prepare for their trip to Mexico. The first thing I saw when I got out of the car was a Great White Heron working a pond. I watched it for a while, and managed to get some “grab” shots as it captured a frog for breakfast. I hiked up the gas pipeline trail and only saw one thistle plant still in bloom. All of the other thistle plants had already gone to seed. When I returned down the trail, I waited at the thistle in bloom and was rewarded by two late season Monarch butterflies. Then when I was going back to my car, I saw this Green Heron fishing in the pond. All in all a great day at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Natural Selection. This Frog Will Not Be Reproducing. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E 20 III teleconverter. (ISO 280, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)

Late Monarch Butterfly on a Thistle Bloom. Fall Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens. (ISO 110, 300 mm, f.2.8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Green Heron Gone Fishing at a Pond in the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR len + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (04-October-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

Fungus Among Us!! Since I got back from the Fall Semester at Sea Voyage, everything has been damp and wet. The last two mornings there was a thick fog until late morning. Mildew everywhere – including the seat belt straps in my car. I’ve never seen a blue mushroom before. The images in this post are all from my driveway where mushrooms are abundant.

Blue Mushroom and Slug. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre) — Blue Mushroom and Slug. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre)

Autumn Mushrooms. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre) — Autumn Mushrooms. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre)

Autumn Red Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre) — Autumn Red Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre)

Autumn Blue Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre) — Autumn Blue Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 60 mm, f/16, 1/13 sec) + SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (02-October-2012) — New Jersey

Fall 2012 Semester at Sea Voyage. Day 40: Back Home in New Jersey.

Back Home Blues. One of the great things while on the MV Explorer I didn’t need to deal with mundane things like laundry. On the ship, laundry was done any day we were at sea for $6/bag (more if you wanted anything ironed). Since we had been at port in Cadiz, Spain for the last several days of my trip, I ended up coming home with a large bag of dirty laundry 😉

Dirty Laundry Bag. Back in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 30 camera (ISO 400, 4.3 mm, f/3.3, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (28-September-2008) — Utah

Gone to See American 2008 Road Trip. Driving from Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument to Bryce National Park.

Double Rainbow. While driving from Zion National Park to Bryce National Park on Utah Highway 12, I noticed a dark sky and then a rainbow in my rear-view mirror. I stopped along the road just outside Canyonville and started to take some pictures. It was great that I had a dark background so I could see the double rainbow. By the time the rainbow was done several other cars stopped. I was the only one with a tripod, which was good since I could take several exposures for later HDR processing.

Double Rainbow in Utah. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 17 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Topaz Define (Color Jump), Topaz DeNoise, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (19-September-2006) — Texas

Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 21: Big Bend National Park, Texas.

Abandoned Post Office at Hot Springs in Big Bend National Park.

Old Post Office at Big Bend National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 18-70 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre) — Old Post Office at Big Bend National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-70 mm kit lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/9, 1/320 sec). (David J. Mathre)

Check out previous images of the post office in 1930’s and 1945.