Category: Nature

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

Friday (12-November-2010) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nighttime Sky over New Jersey.

  1. Star trail composite of ~180 images (3 hours) taken last night looking south from my home in New Jersey. Each image was acquired with a Nikon D3x camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, f/8, 59 sec). Images converted to jpg with Capture NX2, then combined using the startrails.exe program.
  2.  Star trail composite of ~300 images 5 hours) taken last night looking south from my home in New Jersey. Each image was acquired with a Nikon D3x camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, f/8, 59 sec). Images converted to jpg with Capture NX2, then combined using the Startrails program. Since this was later, fewer jet trails.
  3. Waxing Crescent Moon image acquired with a Nikon D3s camera and Questar 7″ telescope (ISO 200, ~ 1600 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec).
Star Trails and Jet Traffic over New Jersey (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Jet Traffic over New Jersey (David J Mathre)
Star Trails over New Jersey (David J Mathre)
Star Trails over New Jersey (David J Mathre)
Waxing Crescent Moon. Image taken with Nikon D3s and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 2.0 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm f/8, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Waxing Crescent Moon. Image taken with Nikon D3s camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E 2.0 teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm f/8, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (10-November-2010) — New Jersey

Macro Images: Crystals.

I have always been fascinated  with gems and crystals. I loved growing sugar and then alum crystals as a kid. Ultimately, I became a chemist where growing crystals became part of my job. These are several random rough crystals that I have grown over the years. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro (ISO 100, f/11, 30 sec). Processed using Capture One Pro 5, Adobe Photoshop PS5 and Focus Magic.

Random Rough Crystals. Image taken with Nikon D3x and 60 mm f/2.8 macro (ISO 100, f/11, 30 sec) (David J Mathre)
Random Rough Crystals. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, f/11, 30 sec) (David J Mathre)

 

Saturday (06-November-2010) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

Turkey Vulture soaring. The Turkey Vultures population has increased significantly since the state quit picking up the road killed deer. This is both hunting and rutting season so we have many deer running across roads and being hit by automobiles. Robin feasting on fall “bittersweet” berries. I don’t know if this robin plans to winter, or is feasting before flying south. Finally, some fall mushrooms.


Thursday (03-June-2010) — Trinidad

Gone to See the Caribbean Islands. Semester at Sea Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Day 8: Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Blue Crowned Motmot at a Feeder. Asa Wright Nature Center, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec).

Blue Crowned Motmot at a Feeder. Asa Wright Nature Center, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). Semester at Sea Spring 2010 Enrichment Voyage. (David J Mathre)
Blue Crowned Motmot at a Feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 1600, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Two-Years Ago (01-June-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Colorado.

Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lilly Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Male Broad-tailed Hummingbird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. (David J Mathre)