Nature - David Mathre Photography

Monday (22-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

The fawn and doe were in my backyard. I took this with a 300 mm f/2.8 lens @ f/2.8 so the fawn is in focus and the doe is out of focus.

Fawn and Doe. Summer Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sunday (21-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, Black and Yellow Swallowtail Butterflies, Monarch Butterfly, Dragonfly, Robber-Fly, and an American Goldfinch.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle Bloom. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 640, 600 mm, f/16, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Black Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 640, 600 mm, f/16, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle Bloom. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 1100, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly on Thistle Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 1100, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Monarch Butterfly on Yellow Wildflower. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 220, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Monarch Butterfly on Yellow Wildflower. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 220, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth on Thistle Bloom. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 900, 600 mm, f/8, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Clearwing Hummingbird Moth on Thistle Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 900, 600 mm, f/8, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

American Goldfinch on a Thistle. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 250, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — American Goldfinch on a Thistle. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 250, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Sunday (21-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Life and Death in Nature. It was a great day to photograph nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Many Butterflies, Clearwing Hummingbird Moths, Dragonflies,Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve. Robberflies, and a few Praying Mantis carnivores. I went in with two cameras, a D3s camera with a 300 mm f/2.8 VR with an TC-E III 20 teleconverter and a D3x camera with a 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro. Humidity was high, and I had to spend the first 15 minutes equilibrating the lenses so they were not fogged. The first place I went to was the location I observed a Praying Mantis eating a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth yesterday. The first image is a Black Swollowtail Butterfly on a Thistle bloom. Soon thereafter a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth started checking out the Thistle blooms. DANGER! DANGER! It didn’t see the Praying Mantis. Minutes later the moth was breakfast for the Praying Mantis. Later, another Black Swollowtail Butterfly was breakfast to a brown Praying Mantis.

Danger! Danger! Clearwing Hummingbird Moth being Stalked by a Praying Mantis. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Danger! Danger! Clearwing Hummingbird Moth being Stalked by a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth as a Meal for a Praying Mantis. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 320, 600 mm, f/8, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Clearwing Hummingbird Moth as a Meal for a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 320, 600 mm, f/8, 1/500 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Clearwing Hummingbird Moth as a Meal for a Praying Mantis. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Clearwing Hummingbird Moth as a Meal for a Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Praying Mantis full after a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth Meal. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 800, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Praying Mantis full after a Clearwing Hummingbird Moth Meal. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 800, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Brown Praying Mantis. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 220, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Brown Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 220, 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Black Swallowtail Butterfly as a Meal for a Brown Praying Mantis. Sourland Mountain Preserve, Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 160, 105 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Black Swallowtail Butterfly as a Meal for a Brown Praying Mantis. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 160, 105 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Saturday (20-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Back at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. This is the same Dragonfly like insect that was in my 19-August-2011 post. It is as large as a Dragonfly, but is not one since it only has one set of wings. When they are not mating, they are aggressive carnivores, catching and eating other insects. [Finally identified as a Robber-Fly. Thanks to Hans for sending a link.]

Robber-Flies Mating Insects. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre) — Robber-Flies Mating Insects. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 320, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Saturday (20-August-2011) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

I returned to the Sourland Mountain Preserve with a Macro and Telephoto lens. We had rain last night (again) and there was a lot of dew on the plants. I used the Macro lens to capture grass with dew and thistle buds with dew.

Dew on Grass. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Dew on Grass. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Dew on Thistle Flower Buds. Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Dew on Thistle Flower Buds. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)