The Semester at Sea, Spring 2016 voyage was almost over. Some of the students had their faces painted with flags from the countries we visited. Can anyone identify this flag? Then one final sunset image (and yes, that is a sunspot).
Face painting on board the MV World Odyssey. Day 101 of 102 of the Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage at sea between Morocco and England. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and a 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 173 mm, f/5.3, 1/1600 sec). (David J Mathre)Final sunset aboard the MV World Odyssey. Day 101 of 102 of the Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage at sea between Morocco and England. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and a 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/16, 1/4000 sec). (David J Mathre)
I took the cactus bloom out to get some real sunlight. I am hoping that the bees will find it. For the last month it has been indoors under LED grow-lights.
Cactus bloom out in the sunlight. Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 335 mm, f/5.4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
On the way to a Central California photography workshop, I stopped at Piedras Blancas Beach near San Simeon. The beach was full of elephant seals. I spent a couple of hours while the light was still good. I loved the expressions on there faces. This is my first attempt at embedding a slide-show of some of the images.
Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas Beach, Central California Coast. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Walkabout on an early spring day in New Jersey. These are the flowers that the deer do not eat. The Pieris japonica (Lily of the Valley shrub) still exists, and is blooming ten years later. The Azalea shrubs that were next to it are all gone.
Cluster of Pieris japonica flowers. Also known as Lilly of the Valley shrub Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)Pair of backyard daffodils. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)Forsythia blooms. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)Early dandelion flower. Early spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
One of my indoor cacti started blooming last night. The flower is bright red. It looks like there will be four more flowers. I am going to try to do a time-lapsed video as they open. I will also put the plant outside in the sun tomorrow to see if the local bees find it. Otherwise, I will need to try to manually pollinate the flower.
Cactus in Bloom. Indoor spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)Cactus in Bloom. Indoor spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/16, 1/30 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)