Category: Landscape

Views of the land around the world

Tuesday (15-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Out working on the patio, I harvested the Broccoli Rabe and Radishes in the Grow Towers. This opened up light for the Basil and Pepper plants. I also distributed worms in to the composting tubes in each Grow Tower. I used the Ricoh Theta Z1 360 degree camera to make time-lapse Little Planet videos of the work on the patio. Same workflow as yesterday: Theta Z1 Camera set to record images using program auto mode (shutter, aperture, white-balance, JPG + RAW (DNG) every 10 seconds. Camera mounted on a tripod just above head level. The camera collected ~ 360 images (~ 1 hour) before running out of internal storage space. The DNG dual fisheye images were processed with Capture One Pro, saved in TIF format. Then converted to 360 degree equirectangular pano images with PTGUI (batch process). The Little Planet time-lapse video was created using PhotoShop CC (image converted to 1:1 format (7430 x 7430), rotated 180 degrees, converted to polar coordinates, then exported as a MP4 video (1920 x 1920, 10p). Rotation to the video was added using Premiere Pro.

Daily Electric Energy Used (39.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (52.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun. A surplus of 12.4 kWh.

Monday (14-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Morning at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, House Finch, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.


Morning at the Birdfeeders. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Contact me if you are interested in a Time-lapse Video of the Morning session at the Birdfeeders. My setup for the birdfeeder images is a Nikon D850 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens set to take one image every 5 seconds over a 5 hour period (~3600 images). The new time-lapse video format is 720p (1080 x 720 pixels) and 1 frame/second. The length of the video is about 1 hour in a 1 GB MP4 file. The previous time-lapse videos of the birdfeeders were at 12 frames/second, and to be honest were too fast to identify the birds.

Out on the patio, I planted some Garlic for next spring and watered the Grow Towers. Theta Z1 Camera set to record images using program auto mode (shutter, aperture, white-balance, JPG + RAW (DNG) every 10 seconds. Camera mounted on a tripod just above head level. The camera collected ~ 360 images (~ 1 hour) before running out of internal storage space. The DNG dual fisheye images were processed with Capture One Pro, saved in TIF format. Then converted to 360 degree equirectangular pano images with PTGUI (batch process). The Little Planet time-lapse video was created using PhotoShop CC (image converted to 1:1 format (7430 x 7430), rotated 180 degrees, converted to polar coordinates, then exported as a MP4 video (1920 x 1920, 10p). Rotation to the video was added using Premiere Pro.

Daily Electric Energy Used (48.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (51.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds. A surplus of 2.9 kWh.

Thursday (10-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Afternoon at the Birdfeeders: Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, Song Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal.


Afternoon at the Birdfeeders. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Contact me if you are interested in a Time-lapse Video of the Morning or Afternoon session at the Birdfeeders. My setup for the birdfeeder images is a Nikon D850 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens set to take one image every 5 seconds over a 5 hour period (~3600 images). The new time-lapse video format is 720p (1080 x 720 pixels) and 1 frame/second. The length of the video is about 1 hour in a 1 GB MP4 file. The previous time-lapse videos of the birdfeeders were at 12 frames/second, and to be honest were too fast to identify the birds.

I wondered why there were periods of time when all of the birds at the feeder disappeared. Then I saw a Bald Eagle in a tree. First time I have seen a Bald Eagle in my backyard. Soon after a bunch of American Crows started harassing the Bald Eagle causing it to fly away. A bit later, I saw a Cooper’s Hawk in the same tree that the Bald Eagle had been perched. As before, a bunch of American Crows started harassing the Cooper’s Hawk causing it to fly away. Finally, some Turkey Vultures showed up.


Bald Eagle. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

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American Crow. Image taken with a Leica SL2 camera and Sigma 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 DG DN lens. (David J Mathre)


Cooper’s Hawk. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

I also noticed an Eastern Chipmunk under my birdfeeders. A new resident in the neighborhood. It appears to have a tick above its nose.


Eastern Chipmunk. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (54.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (35.1 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Lots of clouds. A deficit of 19.1 kWh.

Monday (07-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summer Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

This was the third night in a row with a clear sky. The moon would rise a hour later. I decided to do star trails again with the Ricoh Theta Z1 360 degree camera. This time I mounted the camera horizontally so one of the fisheye lenses pointed straight up. I wanted to see if this would make a difference with the star trails. Camera settings (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). The images were processed with PTGUI, Capture One Pro, and Photoshop CC to create the following 360 degree Equirectangular Panorama, 360 degree Little Planet View, and 360 degree Tunnel View images. Interestingly, the camera adjusted the output with a correct horizon. It turned out that the horizontal settings were not as stable (wind jitter?). Fortunately, the PhotoShop CC settings I use to create the composite images (scripts, statistics, maximum) has a setting that tries to align images. Presumably using major common features in all of the images. If you look close, you can see some firefly trails.

Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-20:59) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). Without image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-20:59) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). Without image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of images (22:00-22:59) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of images (22:00-22:59) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-03:20) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-03:20) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet View Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-03:20) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet View Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-03:20) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-03:20) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View Panorama). Composite of images (20:12-03:20) taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). With image alignment in Photoshop CC (scrips,statistics, maximum, align images) (DAVID J MATHRE)


Star Trails in one hour segments. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Monday (07-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day: Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal.


Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Neighborhood cat sitting under the birdfeeder. The reason not many birds visited the birdfeeder today.


Neighborhood Cat Posing for a Portrait. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Morning walkabout looking for flowers. White Morning Glory, Sunflower, Cosmos, Evening Primrose, Four O’clock. In the first Morning Glory image you can see the blue “Mile-a-minute” berries/seeds.


Flowers and Wildflowers. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Later in the morning I went out to spray the invasive “Mile-a-Minute” vine with a biosafe herbicide.

Daily Electric Energy Used (50.2 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (57.5 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. A surplus of 7.3 kWh.