Photo Techniques - David Mathre Photography

Wednesday (08-June-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

A back-lit image of a Maple Leaf. The light was going down fast, and I had to get this quickly — thus handheld with a heavy lens. A macro image from 15 feet.

Tuesday (07-June-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Wildlife in New Jersey.

More testing out my new telephoto lenses. I don’t have the Kirk Arca-Swiss adapters, so the images were taken hand-held using the lens vibration reduction (VR) to stabilize the image.

Are You Looking at Me? Doe in my Backyard. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens with TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 250, 1000 mm, f/8, 1/60 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Are You Looking at Me? Doe in my Backyard. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens with TC-E III 20 teleconverter (ISO 250, 1000 mm, f/8, 1/60 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Pointer Doe Deer with Her Tongue Out. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 3200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Pointer Doe Deer with Her Tongue Out. Outdoor Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 3200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/640 sec). Image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Monday (06-June-2011) — New Jersey

Indoor and Outdoor Wildlife in New Jersey.

Another macro image of a Scutigera Coleoptrata (House Centipede) crawling on the wall indoors. It is not a silverfish. Outside, I got to test out a new telephoto lens.

Scutigera Coleoptrata (House Centipede) -- Not a Silverfish. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro + TC-E 20 (ISO 800, 210 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec) with SB-900 Flash. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Scutigera Coleoptrata (House Centipede) — Not a Silverfish. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro + TC-E 20 (ISO 800, 210 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec) with SB-900 Flash. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Doe Licking Her Lips -- Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 lens (ISO 1800, 600 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec) handheld. Image processed with Capture One 6 Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Doe Licking Her Lips — Backyard Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 lens (ISO 1800, 600 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec) handheld. Image processed with Capture One 6 Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Three-Years Ago (01-June-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park.

While visiting Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park I saw a number of male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds. It looked like they were setting up territories as they would perch on a branch and watch the others in the vicinity. Every now and then they would dive toward the others in an attempt to get some more space.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Male Broad-tailed Humming Bird at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D300 and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens + TC-E II 20 teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CS5.

Tuesday (31-May-2011) — New Jersey

I am resisting NAS (Nikon Acquisition Syndrome) Today.

While reading the commentary on Thom Hogon’s site today, I saw that B&H (and other vendors) had received new Nikon 500 mm and 600 mm f/4 VRII Super Telephoto lenses and still have some available for sale. These have been in short supply for a long time, and may be in even shorter supply for an even longer time since the earthquake in Japan. I held out and did not place an order (and thus didn’t help the economy by spending nearly $20K). This was hard, since I missed many great photo opportunities while on the Semester at Sea, Spring Enrichment Voyage — Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop (UTPW-II) earlier this month. Several of the folks attending the workshop had the larger 500 mm and 600 mm lenses and were able to get some great images that made those of us with lighter kits (70-300 or 80-400) jealous.