Three-Years Ago (21-June-2012) — New Jersey

Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Three Young Wild Turkeys grazing on the first day of summer three years ago. They are small so the clovers can be considered as underbrush. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 500 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec).

Young Wild Turkeys. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 500 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Young Wild Turkeys. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 500 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (20-June-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Spring Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-200 mm lens or Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. Need to work on getting the aperture and focus synchronized. The first image has both sharp and blurred images, whereas the second one has more blurred images.

Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 70 mm, f/4, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 400, 70 mm, f/4, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2, 1/30 sec). (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (20-June-2014) — Portugal

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 20: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Portugal.

The Semester at Sea MV Explorer was docked in Lisbon, but we were not allowed off the ship since it was a classroom day. These images were taken early in the morning from the deck of the ship. We were docked right next to the Lux nightclub where there was loud music all night, and it didn’t close until nearly 06:00. By the music was loud, I could hear and feel the rhythmic thump, thump, thump  in my cabin all night. When I got out on deck to capture the sunrise I saw a long line of taxis waiting to take the night club folks home (many staggering and not able to stand up). At breakfast, the Semester at Sea shipboard administration folks were concerned what would happen when the students were allowed off the ship with a night club this close. The chatter on the ship was women (appropriately dressed with a short skirt) could get into the Lux for free, but men had to pay a 200 EU service charge.

Nightclub Lux closing at 06:00. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-200 mm f/4 lens (ISO 800, 116 mm, f4, 1/15 sec) (David J Mathre)
Nightclub Lux closing at 06:00. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-200 mm f/4 lens (ISO 800, 116 mm, f4, 1/15 sec) (David J Mathre)
Dawn and Sunrise over the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-200 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f8, 1/125 sec) (David J Mathre)
Dawn and Sunrise over the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-200 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f8, 1/125 sec) (David J Mathre)
Dawn and Sunrise over the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-200 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f8, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre)
Dawn and Sunrise over the Tagus River in Lisbon, Portugal from the deck of the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 80-200 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f8, 1/250 sec) (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (19-June-2014) — Portugal

Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 19: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Lisbon, Portugal.

We were still at sea while the sun rose over the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrived in Lisbon, Portugal a bit after noon. As this was still a class day, we were not allowed off the ship after we docked. There were some amazing clouds over Lisbon that afternoon and evening. Individual images can be viewed here.


Thursday (18-June-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Spring Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

Firefly Trails. I had seen the fireflies in the Yucca flowers during the day so set up a camera to see them at night. Composite of 311 images (~156 minutes) taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, and composite processed in Photoshop CC.

The amazing thing — the deer haven’t eaten the Yucca flowers yet!!!

Firefly Trails in the Yucca flowers Composite of 311 images (~156 minutes) taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, and composite processed in Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails in the Yucca flowers Composite of 311 images (~156 minutes) taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, and composite processed in Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)