Category: Landscape

Views of the land around the world

Sunday (06-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summer Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

The waning gibbous moon was bright, so I took images with several different cameras and lens. All of the shots were done hand-held using lens or sensor image stabilization. Images were processed with Capture One Pro and then cropped so the size of the moon would be the same.

    1. Leica SL2 camera and 90-280 mm Leica lens (ISO 100, 280 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec).
    2. Leica SL2 camera and 100-400 mm Sigma lens (ISO 160, 400 mm, f/6.3, 1/640 sec).
    3. Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec).
    4. Nikon D5 camera and 200-500 mm f/5.6 VR lens (ISO 800, 500 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec).
    5. Nikon D810a camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec).
    6. Fuji X-H1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec).


Waning Gibbous Moon. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Waning Gibbous Moon. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (46.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (59.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More Sun. A surplus of 12.7 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (351 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (318 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 33 kWh.

Sunday (06-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summer Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

This was the second 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. 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. If you look close, you can see some firefly trails.

Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of 358 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of 358 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet View). Composite of 358 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet View). Composite of 358 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 358 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 358 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/2.1, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Star Trails (360 degree Equirectangular View). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (46.9 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (59.6 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More Sun. A surplus of 12.7 kWh.

Weekly Electric Energy Used (351 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (318 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. A deficit of 33 kWh.

Saturday (05-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summer Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

With a clear night sky, I decided to try the new Ricoh Theta Z1 360 degree camera to create some star trails. I set the camera up on my back patio (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). The camera can collect 358 raw (DNG) images which corresponds to just under 5 hours at 60 second exposures. 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. I’ve also included a time-lapse video of the night sky

Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (43.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun. A surplus of 18.9 kWh.

Saturday (05-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Walkabout with a new Sigma 100-400 mm f/5-6.3 telephoto zoom lens on a Leica CL camera. Hand-held, the combo is a bit awkward with the camera being smaller than the lens. On the smaller sensor (APS-C), the field of view is equivalent to 150-600 mm. The invasive “Mile-a-minute” vine is taking over. Flowers in the soft-pots on the patio. Zinnia, Cosmos, Coreopsis, Zinnia, Sunflower.

Invasive "Mile-a-minute" vine. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and Sigma 100-400 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Invasive "Mile-a-minute" vine. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and Sigma 100-400 mm lens (DAVID J MATHRE)


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

Need to catch up on mowing the lawn. Finally a clear day when the grass was dry.

Daily Electric Energy Used (43.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun. A surplus of 18.9 kWh.

Friday (04-September-2020) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Walkabout with a new Sigma 70 mm f/2.8 macro lens on the Leica SL2 camera. Flowers in the soft-pots on the patio. Zinnia, Cosmos, Coreopsis, Forget-me-not, Sunflower. Hand-held, but somewhat windy out. Narrow depth of field, so not all are completely in focus. Something I need to work on. This camera does have a higher resolution mode (but not a focus stacking mode). The higher resolution mode requires the camera be stabilized on a tripod. The same is true for the focus stacking mode on the Fuji X-H1 or Nikon D850.


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

Tropical Storm Isaias aftermath. Current status of the downed Oak trees after one month.


Tropical Storm Isaias Aftermath. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Daily Electric Energy Used (56.5 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (57.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun. A surplus of 0.9 kWh.