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.

Thursday (14-July-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

A DSLR video and still image of the July “Thunder Full Moon. These were taken with a Nikon D3s camera and Questar 7” telescope. The moon disk just fits within the D3s sensor, and is clipped in the video. The official full moon is on the 15th, but these images and the video were taken within 4 hours of the full moon on the 14th. I used Adobe CS5 Premiere Pro to edit the video. The digital art version of the full moon was created using Nik Color Efex Pro — Weird Lines Filter.

Thunder Full Moon Digital Art. Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and Questar 7 inch telescope (ISO 1600, ~2500 mm, f/16, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Color Efex Pro (Weird Lines) and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre) — Thunder Full Moon Digital Art. Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and Questar 7 inch telescope (ISO 1600, ~2500 mm, f/16, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Color Efex Pro (Weird Lines) and Photoshop CS5

Thunder Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and Questar 7 inch telescope (ISO 1600, ~2500 mm, f/16, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5 (David J Mathre) — Thunder Full Moon over New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and Questar 7 inch telescope (ISO 1600, ~2500 mm, f/16, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5

Thursday (14-July-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Fawns and Does. When I got home tonight, I found several deer in my backyard and shot this sequence from my deck.

Two Fawns. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Two Fawns. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Doe -- Why Are You Pointing That Big Black Lens At My Fawns. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Doe — Why Are You Pointing That Big Black Lens At My Fawns. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec).

Doe -- I'm Out Of Here. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1250, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Doe — I’m Out Of Here.

Doe Telling Fawn, Time To Get Out Of Here. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1250, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Doe Telling Fawn, Time To Get Out Of Here. Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Doe Moving Fawns. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Doe Moving Fawns.

Thursday (14-July-2011) — New Jersey

Indoor Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

I keep finding these crawling Scutigera coleoptrata “house centipedes” around the house. Like spiders, I know they are supposed to be a good thing eating other insects and silverfish, but ….

Creepy Crawly. Scutigera coleoptrata (House Centipede) -- Not a Silverfish. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 30 sec) with SB-900 Flash. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Creepy Crawly. Scutigera coleoptrata (House Centipede) — Not a Silverfish. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 30 sec) with SB-900 Flash. (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (13-July-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summer Night Sky in New Jersey. Waxing Gibbous Moon. DSLR Night Video + Telephoto Lens Testing.

After several days having problem with taking video images of the moon with the Nikon D3s, I finally figured out what the problem was. I was pointed to a reference on the net about an undocumented feature in Live View that impacts video capture (Thanks to Howard Ignatius). The secret sauce is “use the OK button”

“- There is some misinformation online stating that the camera does not allow true manual control over ISO, shutter speed, and aperture in video mode. That is absolutely not true. The feature is undocumented for some reason, but if you hit the OK button while in live view, a light meter will appear and it switches to whatever mode that you currently have set on the camera (manual, aperture priority, etc). That means if you’re on manual, then you can adjust all of your settings as you please. Push the INFO button to cycle through different display modes, including a live histogram, horizon level, grid, etc.” http://www.davidbergman.net/blog/how-to-get-manual-exposure-video-mode-on-the-nikon-d3s/

Bottom line, I now have manual control of the camera when taking videos!!!!!

The following video contains 15 second segments of the moon with different telephoto lenses comparing with and without the lens “vibration reduction” being enabled. When on tripod there is a difference. Let me know if you see the difference. The telephoto lenses and telescope used include the 600 mm f/4 VR, 600 mm f/4 VR + TC-E III 20 (1200 mm), 500 mm f/4 VR, 500 mm f/4 + TC-E III 20 (1000 mm), 400 mm f/2.8, 400 mm f/2.8 + TC-E III 20 (800 mm), 300 mm f/2.8, 300 mm f/2.8 + TC-E III 20 (600 mm), and Questar 3.5″ telescope (~1500 mm). The video was put together using Adobe CS5 Premiere Pro.

I’ve also included a still image of the waxing gibbous moon (97%) taken with the Nikon D3s and Questar 3.5″ telescope (ISO 1600, ~1500 mm, f/16, 1/1000 sec).

Tuesday (12-July-2011) — New Jersey

Indoor Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Moth Attracted by Moonlight. After I was done shooting the moon and deer by moonlight, I saw this Moth. I assume that it was attracted by the moonlight.

Moth Attracted by Moonlight. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 800, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Moth Attracted by Moonlight. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 800, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5.