Two-Years Ago (02-November-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Night Sky over New Jersey.

Time-lapse Video. The night sky looking south. Stars, clouds, and jet trails. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 24 mm f/3.5 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/5.6, 120 sec).

One-Year Ago (24-October-2016)

Backyard Autumn Nature in New Jersey

One of the backyard Nisse found a new mushroom. I don’t often see him out during the day. Composite of 24 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 60mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/3, 1/640 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the image stack processed with Helicon Focus.

Backyard Nisse with a new autumn mushroom. Composite of 24 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 60mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/3, 1/640 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the image stack processed with Helicon Focus. (David J Mathre)
Backyard Nisse with a new autumn mushroom. Composite of 24 focus stacked images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 60mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/3, 1/640 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the image stack processed with Helicon Focus. (David J Mathre)

It was too windy to take wildflower pictures outside, and was about to freeze overnight. So I cut six of the remaining wildflowers (Coreopsis, Cosmos, and Black-eyed Susan) and took them inside to shoot. The images were taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens. Slide show with 6 images.


 

The wildflower garden was successful last year, so I expanded it significantly this year. Some areas worked, others didn’t. The deer and rabbits nibbled at the edges, but left me enough to take a lot of pictures of the wildflowers. I needed to add an electric fence this year. I think my favorites have been the poppies where I tried many times to do time-lapsed videos of them opening in the morning. It will be interesting to see what comes back next spring. I also cleared two more large sections that will be seeded once the ground gets colder.

One-Year Ago (20-October-2016) — New Jersey

Home Renovation Project

Back side of the house undergoing renovation. The previous wood deck was removed, and the space is being converted to a stone patio. The roofing, back siding and French doors had been replaced. Solar panels had been installed on the roof, and at the time of this picture were awaiting inspection before being energized. Little Planet (360 degree) view of the project in progress. Also, a slide show of the 36 individual images that were used to produce the Little Planet view.

Little Planet View. Home renovation -- new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Little Planet View. Home renovation — new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)


Little Planet View. Home renovation -- new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Little Planet View. Home renovation — new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Little Planet View. Home renovation -- new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Little Planet View. Home renovation — new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Little Planet View. Home renovation -- new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)
Little Planet View. Home renovation — new patio. Autumn backyard in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 14 mm, f/16, 1/100 sec) (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (19-October-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Night Sky in New Jersey

Stacked Waining Gibbous Moon (92%). Image 1: Composite of 10 images image taken with a Nikon D810a camera, 400 mm f/2.8 lens, and TC-E III 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). Image 2: Stacked Waining Gibbous Moon (92%). Composite of 14 images image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite generated in Photoshop CC (scripts, statistics, maximum).

Composite stack of ten images of the waining Gibbous Moon (92%). Autumn Nights in New Jersey. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E III 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec) (David J Mathre)
Composite stack of ten images of the waining Gibbous Moon (92%). Autumn Nights in New Jersey. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens with TC-E III 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 800 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec) (David J Mathre)
Composite stack of fourteen images of the waining Gibbous Moon (92%). Autumn Nights in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 50-140 mm f2.8 lens or 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Composite stack of fourteen images of the waining Gibbous Moon (92%). Autumn Nights in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 50-140 mm f2.8 lens or 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (18-October-2016) — New Jersey

Travel Souvenirs and Selfie

I saw this sand painting while visiting the temples in Bagan, Burma (Myanmar).  I am not often tempted to purchase souvenirs, but the birds on the tree reminded me of a Navajo “Tree of Life” wool rug. We were only part way through the Spring 2016 Semester at Sea voyage when I purchased the sand painting and I wasn’t sure it would make the trip without being damaged . Two months later when I finally got home, the painting  was still in good condition.  I had it framed  locally using non-reflective glass, and it is now next to the Navajo “Tree of Life” wool rug.

Birds on a tree. Sand painting from Burma. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16-55 mm f2.8 lens (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/2.8, 1/13 sec) (David J Mathre)
Birds on a tree. Sand painting from Burma. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16-55 mm f2.8 lens (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/2.8, 1/13 sec) (David J Mathre)
Troll and "Tree of Life". Composite of 72 stacked images using Helicon Focus. Images taken with a Nikon D800 and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec) with 3 SB700/800/900 flashes. (David J Mathre)
Troll and “Tree of Life”. Composite of 72 stacked images using Helicon Focus. Images taken with a Nikon D800 and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec) with 3 SB700/800/900 flashes. (David J Mathre)

Every Year or so, the Beard Falls Off

Self image without the beard. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16-55 mm f2.8 lens (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/8, 2.3 sec). (David J Mathre)
Self image without the beard. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 16-55 mm f2.8 lens (ISO 200, 55 mm, f/8, 2.3 sec). (David J Mathre)