Category: Photo Techniques

Eleven-Years Ago (04-July-2007) — Colorado

Summer in Colorado. Railroad to Pikes Peak.

Eleven-years ago on a lark I drove from Boulder to Colorado Springs and then to Manitou Springs to take the Cog Wheeled Railroad to the summit of Pikes Peak. Little did I know that you needed reservations for the cog rail trip to Pikes Peak, and that all trips were sold out for the day. I was very lucky that someone in line before me was unhappy that their party was not all sitting together and turned in their tickets. Once I got on board the train, I realized that I won the lottery since my ticket was for the front seat. This allowed me to set up a tripod and camera to capture images for a time-lapse video for the train ride. So as not to annoy the other passengers on the train I used a small Gitzo travel tripod, my smallest camera body, and a small lens. Going up the mountain I used a 18-200 mm lens at 18 mm. Going down the mountain my seat was now in the rear of the train looking back. For this I used a 10.5 mm fisheye lens. This was a case of being in the right place at the right time!!!

Steam Engine at Pikes Peak Cog Railroad. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Topaz Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Steam Engine at Pikes Peak Cog Railroad. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Topaz Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Sunday (01-July-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily walkabout looking for flowers. Daisy, Baby’s Breath, Red Poppy, California Poppy, Cosmos (notice the spider), Zinnia, etc.

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


Sunday (01-July-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Early Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Fledgling Day. This morning the House Wren parents would fly up to the nest, but not feed the chick. Initially one chick would stick its head out and beg for food, then another one would try to stick its head out above, and another one below the first chick. Eventually, the first chick went outside the entrance and the other two chicks blocked it from reentering the nest. It finally dropped down to the ground and started hopping around and begging to its parents “what do I do now???” Then it was just two birds looking out of the nest. Soon thereafter, the second one jumped out. I didn’t see it but presume the third one followed. Then it was a matter of learning to fly before becoming cat food.

House Wren Chick Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Wren Chick Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Three House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Three House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Two House Wren Chicks Looking Out of the Nest at My Front Door.. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 mm OIS telephoto zoom lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)


Saturday (30-June-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Summer Nature in New Jersey.

Earlier this spring I noticed a tiny bird, smaller than a sparrow entering a small hole near my front door. The hole had been the access point for an intercom system that was removed when I installed a new Ring video door bell. I covered the hole with gaffer tape, and was going to fill it with wood putty, but the bird took the tape off and built a nest. When the bird flew into the nest it would often set off the Ring motion detector. The bird would also fly out of the hole when a delivery person rang the door bell. I finally got some images of the birds feeding the new hatchling(s). I also think that I have identified the bird as a house wren. The head of the young bird is almost as big as the parents, and this evening I noticed both of the parents dancing around, fluttering their wings, and chirping loudly on my door step. I think they are trying to convince junior that it is time to leave the nest…

House Wren Nest at My Front Door. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Wren Nest at My Front Door. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Wren Nest at My Front Door. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Wren Nest at My Front Door. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Wren Nest at My Front Door. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
House Wren Nest at My Front Door. Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 80 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 1600, 80 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Seven-Years Ago (30-June-2011) — New Jersey

Summer in New Jersey. Independence Day Fireworks Video.

DSLR video of the 30-June-2011 Montgomery Township Fireworks display. The Nikon D3s camera is limited to 5 minute HD (720P) video segments. I ended up with three 5 minute segments. I left the in-camera sound recording on to get the sound effects of the fireworks. I also got commentary about the fireworks from a family sitting in front of my tripod. At one point you can hear a train whistle. The other clicking sound is the shutter of my other cameras. I used Adobe Premiere Pro to combine the first and third segments, zoomed in a bit so the firework display takes up more of the image, and increased the volume. I also used Premiere Pro to add a title page to the video.