Three-Years Ago (18-February-2009) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey: Black-capped Chickadee.

It was really cold out when I found this small bird trying to keep warm above my front door. It kept flying around and getting bits of the spider webs caught on its beak and wings. These images were taken with my “go anywhere” Nikon D300 camera and 18-200 mm lens with the pop-up flash. I did need to remove the lens hood to prevent a shadow in the image.



Individual images in the slide-show can be viewed here.

Friday (17-February-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey: Spring is Coming!!!

When I got home today, I noticed that these Purple Crocuses were in bloom across the street. I think that this is the earliest that I have seen these blooming. In addition, some of the Daffodils are also starting to bloom.

For those wondering why I have not posted recently, things have been busy at work.

Early Purple Crocuses -- Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10 mm lens (ISO 100, 10mm, f/3.2, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses — Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10 mm lens (ISO 100, 10mm, f/3.2, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocus -- Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100 mm lens (ISO 100, 100 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocus — Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100 mm lens (ISO 100, 100 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses -- Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100 mm lens (ISO 100, 53 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses — Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100 mm lens (ISO 100, 53 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses -- Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100 mm lens (ISO 100, 58 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocuses — Spring is Coming. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 and 10-100 mm lens (ISO 100, 58 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (21-January-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Vacation. Day 2: Oslo.

This was the beginning of the extended family winter vacation in Norway. Our first full day was in Oslo. Some of the children in the group had never seen snow before. A long day with many things to see and do as well as adjust to the time difference.

Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
National Theater and Ibsen. Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
National Theater and Ibsen. Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
National Theater and Ibsen. Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
National Theater and Ibsen. Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Nobel Peace Center. Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Nobel Peace Center. Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Artillery Guarding Oslo at the Akeshus Fortress. Winter in Oslo Norway. (David J Mathre)
Artillery Guarding Oslo at the Akeshus Fortress. Winter in Oslo Norway. (David J Mathre)
Roald Amundsen. Arctic Museum, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Roald Amundsen. Arctic Museum, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Roald Amundsen. Arctic Museum, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Roald Amundsen. Arctic Museum, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Family in Norway, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Family in Norway, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Glass Menagerie, National Theater, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Glass Menagerie, National Theater, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Orchids, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)
Orchids, Winter in Oslo Norway (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (10-January-2011) — Chile

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 15: Torres del Paine National Park, Departing Hosteria Lago Grey Chile.

Early Morning Double Rainbow in Patagonia. Comparison of HDR (High Dynamic Range) Processing Programs. Digital camera sensors are not able to deal with the full dynamic range that the human eye can process. The same is true with computer monitors and printers. There are several commercial programs that will combine over and under exposed digital images to provide a composite digital image that tries to express the wider dynamic range of the eye. I continue to evaluate the commercial HDR programs. The following images are of an early morning double rainbow taken at Lago Grey in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile during my Photography Workshop in Patagonia with Thom Hogan (10-January-2011). The inital image is the original single exposure. This is followed by four HDR images processed with 1) Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro, 2) Photomatix Pro, 3) Nik HDR Pro, and 4) HDR Express Pro. Please reply with comments on which HDR image you like or don’t like.

Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6, 1/25 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6, 1/25 sec).
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composhref=
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using Photomatix Pro (David J Mathre)
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using Photomatix Pro
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using NIK HDR Pro (David J Mathre)
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using NIK HDR Pro
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using HDR Express (David J Mathre)
Early Morning Rainbow, Lago Grey, Torres del Paine, Chile. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 28-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 200, 31 mm, f/5.6). HDR composite of 4 images using HDR Express

One-Year Ago (01-January-2011) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 6: Hosteria El Pilar, El Chalten, Laguna Torre, Parque Nacional Los Glaciaries.

Photo Techniques. High Dynamic Range (HDR) Image Processing.

I continue to evaluate and compare several HDR processing programs. The images were taken on a hike from El Chalten to Laguna Torre in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares while on a Photography Workshop in Patagonia with Thom Hogan on 01-January-2011. The first three images are composites of 5 images processed with Photoshop CS5 HDR Pro, Photomatix, and NIK HDR Efex Pro. The last two images are single image HDR processed with Capture One Pro and DxO. Of these I like the image from NIK HDR Efex Pro best.

Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Five image HDR with Photoshop CS5. (David J. Mathre)
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Five image HDR with Photoshop CS5.
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Five image HDR with Photomatix. (David J. Mathre)
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Five image HDR with Photomatix.
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Five image HDR with Nik HDR Pro. (David J. Mathre)
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Five image HDR with Nik HDR Pro.
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Single image HDR with DxO Pro. (David J. Mathre)
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Single image HDR with DxO Pro.
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Single image HDR with Capture One 6 Pro. (David J. Mathre)
Patagonia Panorama. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 16-28 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 31 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). Single image HDR with Capture One 6 Pro.