Category: Nature

Views of nature and the natural world. Plants, animals, and wildlife from around the world.

Friday (26-August-2016) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Monarch Butterfly on a Bearded Beggarticks (Bidens aristosa) Bloom. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens.

Monarch Butterfly on a Bearded Beggertick Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/7.1, 1/42 sec). (David J Mathre)
Monarch Butterfly on a Bearded Beggertick Flower. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/7.1, 1/42 sec). (David J Mathre)

It was too hot Wednesday when I did my walkabout through the Sourland Mountain Preserve. I didn’t try it yesterday, but gave it a short try today as I am still recovering from Lyme disease. I told myself that I wouldn’t stay out more than an hour, but ended up spending almost two hours. I have three goals at this time of the year: 1) Monarch Butterflies, 2) Hummingbird Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, and 3) Praying Mantis. Bonus points for Praying Mantis with prey. I got all three plus a couple of  bonus images I wasn’t expecting today. I ended up spending nearly two hours out on my walkabout and was really overheated when I got home. A short list of images I took : 1) Turtle; 2) Fritillary butterfly; 3) Hummingbird Clearwing moth; 4) Praying Mantis; 5) Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly mating; 6) Monarch butterfly; 7) Praying Mantis with a Tiger Swallowtail for lunch; 8) American Goldfinch; 9) Frog in the pond; and 10:) American Bittern. I ended up spending two hour in the Sourland Preserve, and was exhausted after getting home. It was way too hot.

Question for those that actually read this far. Should I only do single image in a post, or are albums/collections OK? If albums/collections are OK, only 4 images (so all will be seen, and users understand how to see the image in full screen mode) or as many images as I feel are good? Is it OK when I post images from this day of the year (going back 10 years)? Should they be as processed when first posted, or reprocessed using current photo editing tools (or both)? Is it OK when I post time-lapsed videos? It doesn’t seem like anyone views the time-lapse videos.

Both my “Image of the day” photo blog https://david.mathre.com
and my photo gallery http://davidmathre.com need significant updates and/or redesign. I am interested in comments about what does and doesn’t work as I start on a redesign project.

One-Year Ago (26-August-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star, Moon, and Jet trails. Looking south from my backdoor. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Images processed with Capture One Pro, composite created using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). Converted to B&W with NIK Silver Efex II.

Star, Moon, and Jet trails. Looking south from my backdoor. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Images processed with Capture One Pro, composite created using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). Converted to B&W with NIK Silver Efex II. (David J Mathre)
Star, Moon, and Jet trails. Looking south from my backdoor. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, 16 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Images processed with Capture One Pro, composite created using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). Converted to B&W with NIK Silver Efex II. (David J Mathre)

Seven-Years Ago (26-August-2009) — Washington

Gone to See North America Road Trip. Day 05: Grand Coulee Dam, Washington

Grand Coulee Dam Panorama. Composite of seven images taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Photoshop and CC, NIK Color Efex. Panorama created using AutoPano Pro.

Grand Coulee Dam Panorama. Composite of seven images taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Photoshop and CC, NIK Color Efex. Panorama created using AutoPano Pro. (David J Mathre)
Grand Coulee Dam Panorama. Composite of seven images taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 18 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)


click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow


Nine-Years Ago (26-August-2007) – Colorado

Summertime Nature in Colorado.

Mother duck and eight ducklings resting in the middle of Lily Lake. Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). You can see the ducks as tiny specks in the panoramic image of Lily lake I took a few minutes earlier.

Mother Duck and Eight Ducklings Resting in the Middle of Lilly Lake. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) (David J. Mathre)
Mother Duck and Eight Ducklings Resting in the Middle of Lilly Lake. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) (David J. Mathre)

Nine-Years ago (26-August-2007) — Colorado

Summertime Nature in Colorado.

Squirrel at Caribou Ranch, Boulder County Parkland. The multitasking squirrel knows it will be a long winter. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec).

Squirrel at Caribou Ranch, Boulder Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Squirrel at Caribou Ranch, Boulder Colorado. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)