Photo Techniques - David Mathre Photography

Sunday (19-August-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

It rained most of the morning, so I wasn’t able to get out until the afternoon to check out the garden towers on the patio. Between the timed sprinklers and all of the rain while I was in Germany, most of the plants survived. Indeed lots of invasive weeds and vines. I was able to pick the ripe Italian and Cherry tomatoes. I had to discard a bunch of the tomatoes that had rotted. There were some giant cucumbers that I missed before traveling. A number of the hot peppers turned red, so I also picked them. There were flowers blooming on the morning-glory vines growing up the trellis on my chimney.

Monarch Butterfly on a Pink Zinnia Bloom. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Garden Tower Harvest (Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Hot Peppers). Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Morning Glory Blooms on the Chimney Trellis. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Tree Fungus. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Horned Worm remnants after being eating by tiny wasp parasites. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Saturday (18-August-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

I’m back from a 10-day trip to Germany. It was hot and dry in Germany, but apparently hot and wet in New Jersey. The grass needs to be mowed, the weeds need to be pulled, and the patio garden cleaned up. Some of the tomatoes are ripe, but others rotted. The tomato leaves are turning yellow (too much water, or need nitrogen fertilizer?). Several of the hot peppers are bright red and ready to be picked. There was one remaining yellow squash, and two white eggplants. The wildflower garden continues to attract butterflies and bees. This was the first female black swallowtail butterfly that I have seen this season. A bumblebee was pollinating the basil flowers. There were several Monarch butterflies feeding on the zinnia wildflowers. I also made a quick trip to the local weekly farmers market. It is smaller than the daily markets I saw at several public squares in Germany.

Female Black Swallowtail Butterfly. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/4, 1/950 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Bumblebee on Basil Flowers. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 80 mm, f/4, 1/1100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Four-Years Ago (14-August-2014) — Poland

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 75: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Gdansk, Poland.

Sunset through the barbed-wire fence at Westerplatte. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.

Sunset at Westerplatte in Gdansk, Poland. Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Voyage. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre) — Sunset at Westerplatte in Gdansk, Poland. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (12-August-2013) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/5, 1/600 sec). Lens mounted on a monopod.

I’ve visited the Sourland Mountain Preserve several times after returning from Iceland. There are a couple of patches of Joe Pye weeds that the Yellow (Tiger) Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail butterflies are attracted. I did see one Clearwing Hummingbird Butterfly, but wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. I only saw one thistle in bloom. Didn’t see any Praying Mantis (butterfly predators). Also, only one Monarch Butterfly.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/5, 1/600 sec). Lens mounted on a monopod. (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (07-August-2018) — Germany

Gone to See Germany. An Excursion to Luther & Bach Country with Pastor Walter Still. Day 1: Frankfurt to Eisenach.

After a long overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany I met up with my parents and brother to begin the Luther and Bach tour. Just after we arrived there was a security issue at the airport closing the terminal. We joined the 36 folks in the tour group and had lunch at “Paulaner in the Squaire”. Since the terminal was closed we had a long outdoor walk to the bus (with all of our luggage). Germany is experiencing an extended heat wave (~ 90 °F). It was an initial test of the stamina of the group as many were exhausted, hot, and dehydrated by the time we got to the bus. Fortunately, the bus had water bottles for sale (1 $ or €). The bus driver managed to get all of our luggage loaded under the bus. Our tour bus for the next 10 days took us to Eisenach. After checking into the hotel (Stigenberger Hotel Thüringer Hof), I did a short walkabout where I found the statue of St. George Slaying the Dragon.

Statue of Saint George Slaying the Dragon outside the St. George's Church in Eisenach. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/4, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE) — Statue of Saint George Slaying the Dragon outside the St. George’s Church in Eisenach. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 18 mm, f/4, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)