Landscape - David Mathre Photography

Tuesday (07-August-2012) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

The Lonely Goose. I’ve been watching this Canada goose at the Sourland Mountain Preserve for a while now. Unlike its siblings, it never left. I have a feeling that it can not fly. When ever threatened, it just moves into the pond. Other Canada geese stop by to visit, but this one never leaves. It gets enough to eat as it is almost fully grown. I will continue to watch it, but not sure that it will be able to survive a cold winter.

This was my first outing with my new Nikon D4 camera. I had it connected to a 400 mm f/2.8 lens. I forgot how heavy this lens is, and had it mounted on a gimble tripod. This is a pre-VR version of the lens, but it is heavy enough to absorb much of the camera shutter & mirror vibration.

The Lonely Goose. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre) — The Lonely Goose. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)

GPS: N40°28’24 W74°41’39

Monday (06-August-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Squirrel Eating a Mushroom. My sixth day of Retirement. I took a series of images of rabbits and this squirrel while sitting in my car in my driveway while listening to “A Good American” on SiriusXM. Now that I am not commuting 3+ hours a day I can photograph the local wildlife while listening to books on satellite radio. You might wonder why I am in the car listening to the satellite radio — I don’t have a receiver for SiriusXM in the house, and I am hooked on listening to several of the books being read at this time. I was also waiting for UPS to make a delivery of a Nikon D4 camera. The delivery was supposed to arrive last Friday. UPS claimed that I wasn’t present to sign for the package on Friday — but I had been sitting in the driveway listening to “Three Junes” on SiriusXM at the same time (5:03 PM) that UPS indicated that I was not present. I guess that the driver wanted to go home early on a summer Friday. The package did arrive tonight at ~6:30 PM. Unlike the first wave of D4 deliveries, this one did not include a XQD memory card and XQD card reader. Hope to have some images from the D4 to share tomorrow.

Squirrel Eating a Mushroom. Summer Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre) — Squirrel Eating a Mushroom. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Monday (06-August-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Inquisitive Fawn with Spots. One of the first images with a new Nikon D4 camera. It really was darker than this looks. This was taken at ISO 1600, and I have not done any noise reduction in post processing. Focusing was fast and accurate.

Inquisitive Fawn with Spots. Summer Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre) — Inquisitive Fawn with Spots. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sunday (05-August-2012) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Monarch Butterfly Being Stalked by a Praying Mantis. Today while hiking in the Sourland Mountain Preserve I had a Monarch Butterfly stay long enough to get some images. I then saw that there was a praying mantis stalking the butterfly. The praying mantis is well camouflaged. In this case the butterfly took off before it became breakfast. Last year I got some images of a praying mantis stalking and then eating a hummingbird moth. 21-august-2011.

Monarch Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Look Closely Below to See a Praying Mantis Staking the Butterfly. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). . (David J Mathre) — Monarch Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

GPS: N40°28’19 W74°41’41

Friday (03-August-2012) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

I went for a walk at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Lots of images of Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies and Dragonflies. Not that many wildflowers that butterflies are interested in at this time. I did see one Monarch butterfly, but it never stopped long enough to take an image. Same thing with a black swallowtail butterfly. I did see one Robber-fly, but it didn’t have a meal yet…

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 sec). (David J Mathre) — Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Dragonfly at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 450, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (David J Mathre) — Dragonfly. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 450, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (David J Mathre)

GPS: N40°28’21 W74°41’39