Photo Techniques - David Mathre Photography

Sunday (30-June-2013) — New Jersey

Backyard Nighttime Nature in New Jersey. Firefly Trails.

Between thunderstorms I have been experimenting on the best way to photograph fireflies. I want to capture both the number and movement of the fireflies. I set out three cameras to take a series of 30 second images. The images were then combined into a composite using the startrails.exe program. For these three composites I used relatively high ISO’s and narrow apertures to get a wider depth of field. C&C appreciated.

The bad news that I heard today is that the Sirius/XM Book Radio channel is going away as of 15-July-2013. The Book channel is about the only reasons I have kept up my subscription to Sirius/XM. I have the Book channel on 24/7 both at home and in my car. My long distance drives will not be the same when lost listening to a story.

Two hours of Fireflies Flashes During a Summer Night in New Jersey. Images collected using a Nikon D3s and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 6400, 200 mm, f/11, 30 sec). Composite of 238 images created using the Startrails program. (David J Mathre)

Two hours of Fireflies Flashes During a Summer Night in New Jersey. Images collected using a Nikon D800 and 105 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 3200, 105 mm, f/1, 30 sec). Composite of 225 images created using the Startrails program. (David J Mathre) — Two hours of Fireflies Flashes During a Summer Night in New Jersey. Images collected using a Nikon D800 and 105 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 3200, 105 mm, f/11, 30 sec). Composite of 225 images created using the Startrails program. (David J Mathre)

Two hours of Fireflies Flashes During a Summer Night in New Jersey. Images collected using a Nikon D3 and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 35 mm, f/8, 30 sec). Composite of 211 images created using the Startrails program. (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (21-June-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Three Young Wild Turkeys Grazing in My Backyard. 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)

Five-Years Ago (21-June-2008) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Female Red-Winged Blackbird with an Insect. First Day of Summer at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec).

Female Red-Winged Blackbird with an Insect. First Day of Summer at the Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre) — Female Red-Winged Blackbird with an Insect. First Day of Summer at the Sourland Mountain Preserve in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sunday (16-June-2013) — England

Gone to See Europe. Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 51: Southampton, England.

Queen Elizabeth (Cunard Lines) Docking in Southampton, England. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5, 1/200 sec). In camera B&W.

Early in the morning I saw a large cruise ship all lit up from the window in my cabin. The ship passed us relatively quickly. Once we arrived in Southampton we saw that the large ship that passed us was the Queen Elizabeth.

Wednesday (12-June-2013) — Germany

Gone to See Europe. Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Day 47: Kiel Canal, Germany.

I was part of a team of six photographers that took ~30,000 images as the MV Explorer (Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage) transits the Kiel Canal in Germany.Howard Ignatius used the images to create this time-lapse video of the passage through the canal.