Category: Fine Art

Views of art from around the world

Tuesday (09-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

While it was still cool out in the morning, I mowed the yard. It had been over a week and I needed to catch up. I had my Nikon 1 V3 camera with the 70-300 mm lens with me “just in case”. Sure enough when I passed the back wildflower section I noticed a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. It found the dwarf Zinnia flowers that had just started blooming. This section was not seeded until several weeks after the sections next to the house where the wildflowers are now waist to shoulder high. After I finished mowing I came across a Painted Lady butterfly in the wildflowers near the house. Then to make my day, I saw a Monarch butterfly. I was cooking dinner and looked out the kitchen window and saw it fly by. Normally, I don’t see the Monarch butterflies until late August and September. So I ran out with the camera and got some pictures. I didn’t care that dinner burned while I was outside…

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Zinnia Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Cosmos Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Cosmos Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Painted Lady Butterfly on a Coneflower Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Coreopsis Flower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Monarch Butterfly on a Sunflower. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (58.9 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (79.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Much more sun today, so the solar panels generated more power that I used.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Monday (08-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

It rained most of the morning. Later in the afternoon, I did see a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth (Hemaris thysbe) in my Wildflower Meadow. Right now it is attracted to the Pink Cosmos and Zinnia flowers. I am trying different camera/lens combinations to get the best images of the Hummingbird Moth. Today I used a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (exclusively at 400 mm).


Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.




Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.




Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.




Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.




Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.




Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.




Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.


Daily Power Use (45.5 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (37.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. It rained all morning, and the sun didn’t come out until midday so the power generation was low. The temperatures stayed low, so the geothermal HVAC system didn’t need to work as hard to keep the indoor cool. But, I still used 8.6 kWh more power than produced by the solar panels.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Sunday (07-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Butterflies, Bees, and Clearwing Hummingbird Moths. Today, the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly was missing its tails and some of its rear wing. The Black Swallowtail Butterfly (NJ State Butterfly) was also missing one of its tails. I also saw a Red Admiral and Painted Lady Butterfly. One of the Clearwing Hummingbird Moths showed up. It spent most of its time feeding on the Pink Cosmos and Pink Zinnia flowers


Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.


Daily Power Use (59.1 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (64.15 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The sun was out long enough to generate more power than the geothermal HVAC system needed to keep the house cool.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Wednesday (03-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Another hot summer day. Red-bellied Woodpecker at the bird feeder. It likes the sunflower seeds, and is aggressive enough to keep the Blue Jay and Cardinal away. A doe walked by covered with black flies. Some wide views of the wildflower gardens and meadows. Then closeup, macro images of the flowers and wildflowers: Red allium, Black-eyed Susan, Coreopsis, Cornflower, Cosmos, Creeping Daisy, Five spots, Forget-me-not, Godetia, Italian clover, Larkspur, Leopard’s bane, Love-in-a-mist, Phlox, Poppy, Sunflower, Yucca, Zinnia, and several I have not identified. Since it is hotter on the patio where I have my garden towers, the hot peppers are already turning red.

Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.



Click on the above image to access the individual slideshow images in my gallery.


Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Hot Peppers. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (61.6 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (55.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The outside temperatures were high, so the geothermal HVAC system was working hard and I ended up using more energy that the solar panels could produce. You can see in the graph that there were clouds that reduced the solar energy production.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather

Tuesday (02-July-2019) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Rainbow in New Jersey.

While eating dinner, it started getting dark outside with the rumble of thunder. I was happy when the rain started since it had been hot out, and all of my garden towers on the patio and the wildflower meadows needed water. A bit later when looking out the kitchen window while doing the dishes saw a rainbow. I dropped everything and first ran out with my Leica CL camera with the 11-23 mm wide-angle lens. After taking a bunch of pictures, I returned with a Nikon D810a camera with the 8-15 mm fisheye lens. I really like the Leica CL camera for travel, but the Nikon D810a camera has a  larger (full frame) and more sensitive sensor with greater dynamic range. Just compare the two images of the rainbow above my backyard weather station.  I then took a bunch of images to make a 360 degree panorama, little planet view, and inverse little planet view of the rainbow.

Backyard Evening Rainbow over the Weather Station. After the Thunderstorm. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 11-23 mm lens (ISO 100, 11 mm, f/4.5, 1/640 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backyard Evening Rainbow over the Weather Station. After the Thunderstorm. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 11-23 mm lens (ISO 100, 11 mm, f/4.5, 1/640 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backyard Evening Rainbow over the Weather Station. After the Thunderstorm. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 15 mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backyard Evening Rainbow over the Weather Station. After the Thunderstorm. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 15 mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backyard 360 Panorama View of an Evening Rainbow. After the Thunderstorm. Composite of 46 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 8 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Backyard 360 Panorama View of an Evening Rainbow. After the Thunderstorm. Composite of 46 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 8 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga. (DAVID J MATHRE)


Little Planet View of an Evening Rainbow. After the Thunderstorm. Composite of 46 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 8 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Little Planet View of an Evening Rainbow. After the Thunderstorm. Composite of 46 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 8 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Inverse Little Planet View of an Evening Rainbow. After the Thunderstorm. Composite of 46 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 8 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Inverse Little Planet View of an Evening Rainbow. After the Thunderstorm. Composite of 46 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 200, 8 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and AutoPano Giga. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Power Use (54.9 kWh) from Sense and Solar Production (66.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. The outside temperatures were high, so the geothermal HVAC system was working hard.

Current Weather Conditions

powered by Ambient Weather