Skyscape - David Mathre Photography

Thursday (06-October-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Autumn Nighttime Sky Over New Jersey.

With a clear sky, and bright waxing gibbous moon I experimented ways to acquire sharp images of the moon through a 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens. The lens is mounted on a tripod with a Wimberley gimble tripod head. VR is turned off, and the camera set for “mirror up” mode. I used a remote release, and let the system stabilize for 30 seconds (time-out for mirror up) before the shutter would be triggered. The first five images are #1 (f/16, 1/50 sec); #2 (f/11, 1/100 sec); #3 (f/8, 1/200 sec); #4 (f/5.6, 1/400 sec); and #5 (f/4, 1/800 sec). I think the best was #4 (f/5.6, 1/400 sec), although all were pretty good. The next two images used a TC-E III 20 teleconverter for an effective focal length of 1200 mm #6 (f/16, 1/50 sec); #7 (f/11, 1/100 sec). Here I think #7 (f/11, 1/100 sec) is best. With the additional magnification, a faster shutter speed is needed to counteract the motion of the moon.

I also made several DSLR videos of the moon, since I was using my Nikon D3s camera body. When I reviewed the videos, I saw that I had captured at least two satellite transits in front of the moon. These transits are less than 1 second long. Subject for another post.

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens. (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter. (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter. (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)

Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Autumn Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter. (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/11, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre) — Waxing Gibbous Moon (75%). Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens + TC-E III 20 teleconverter. (ISO 200, 1200 mm, f/11, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (28-September-2008) — Utah

Gone to See American 2008 Road Trip. Driving from Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument to Bryce National Park.

Double Rainbow in Utah. While driving between Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument and Bryce National Park on Utah Highway 12 I saw a rainbow in my rear view mirror. I quickly pulled over just outside of Cannonville Utah and started taking some images. Before the rainbow was gone, many other cars pulled over to admire the view.

Double Rainbow in Utah. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 17 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Topaz Define (Color Jump), Topaz DeNoise, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

[pw_map address=”37.5673084, -112.0507457″ width=”600px” height=”400px” enablecontrols=”true” “key=”AIzaSyDzSJfuf50JPAE5AllQz8iLyENq3jp1rR”]

One-Year Ago (25-September-2010) — California

Gone to See California: Point Reyes National Seashore.

I drove out to Point Reyes National Seashore to photograph the Lighthouse. I’ve tried to photograph this lighthouse on several previous occasions, but it was always shrouded in fog. I got there early in the morning, and this time it was very clear. In one image, the moon is above the lighthouse. Remembering my mentor Winston Hall telling us to always look behind you for a better picture, I turned around and saw this buck on a ridge in the early morning sunlight.

Moon over Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Moon over Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Morning Light at Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Morning Light at Point Reyes Lighthouse. Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Early Morning Buck on a Ridge at Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre) — Early Morning Buck on a Ridge at Point Reyes National Seashore. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 180 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 180 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (19-September-2008) — Utah

Gone to See America 2008. Moab Utah Photography Workshop with Winston Hall. Day 5: Arches National Park.

Time-Lapse Video of a Hike down Park Avenue in Arches National Park. Winston Hall talked me into carrying a tripod on my shoulders so the DSLR camera would be above my head. We set the camera up with a fisheye lens and had it take images every 15 seconds. I used the ~900 images to make a time-lapse video of the hike.

Thanks to Jim Batey, I’ve added an image he took of me wearing the Tripod Headcam.

Tripod Headcam. Park Avenue Trail, Arches National Park. (Jim Batey)

Sunday (18-September-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Summer Nighttime Sky in New Jersey.

When the conditions are right, you can see the Milky Way in New Jersey. Two views, a 5 minute and 15 minute exposure.

Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 300 sec). (David J Mathre)

Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 900 sec). (David J Mathre)

I am back in New Jersey after a short trip to San Francisco. I hate flying and this trip was bad. I spent 4 hours in the plane before taking off in Philadelphia (we did get back to the gate for a short stop to avoid the 3 hour federal regulation rules). Ultimately it took 12 hours from the time I left my office to get to the hotel in San Francisco. I hate flying, and would rather drive. For the return flight, the airline decided there were too many empty seats and substituted a smaller plane (and bumped 20+ passengers). ARRG! I just wanted to get home, and was not interested in a $400 future credit. Ultimately I got a seat on the original flight. It was a middle seat, and I had to force the armrest down to separate me from the over sized person next to me oozing into my seat. I hate flying. I hate flying. I hate flying.