Technology - David Mathre Photography

Friday (12-May-2017) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

After several days of cold, cloudy skies, and rain things cleared up for a bit. The clouds turned pink at dawn (only for an instant). Later on I saw a robin hunting in my backyard. It found a caterpillar for breakfast. One less butterfly this year… (check out a similar image from three years ago 03-May-2014). I took a cluster of rhododendron flowers inside to practice focus stacking. It was too difficult outside with the wind moving the flowers. I used a 9-cm focus rack. For the first two, the images were taken after adjusting the camera in 0.5 cm increments. For the third one, the camera was adjusted 6 cm in 1 mm increments. The images were processed using Helicon Focus (ver. 5.3) software. Let me know if you like method A (weighted average), B (depth map), or C (pyramid) for processing the images

Pink clouds at dawn from my back door. Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm lens (ISO 100, 11 mm, f/3.5, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre) — Pink clouds at dawn from my back door. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 11-23 mm lens (ISO 100, 11 mm, f/3.5, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)

Robin with a caterpillar. One less butterfly this year. Spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre) — Robin with a caterpillar. One less butterfly this year. Image taken with a Nikon N1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Individual images from the slideshow can be viewed here.

Three-Years Ago (01-May-2014) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

The water was still running heavy in the nearby Rock Brook. A tree had fallen into the stream and got caught by the bridge. The Dogwood trees were in bloom, and the Carpenter Bees were out looking to drill holes into the wood exterior of my house. I’m not sure what type of tree or shrub it is where the leaves appear to be emerging from a pod. Individual images from the slide show can be viewed here.

Five-Years Ago (09-March-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey.

Pictures of a squirrel in my backyard after finding a nut. The images were taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera, FT1 adapter, and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VRII lens. I prefer the squirrels outside rather than doing damage in my attic. I’ve put up flashing Christmas lights and ultrasonic noisemakers in my attic to try keeping them outside. That worked for a while, but they ultimately came back. Finally it took traps and the physical removal of 8 nests. All of the insulation in the attic needed to be replaced, as well as the electrical wiring that had been chewed. The cedar shake siding on house was replaced with a concrete composite, and the soffits all replaced. Now all of the ways into the attic have been blocked.

Squirrel with a nut on a sunny winter day. Backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V1 camera, FT1 adapter, and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VRII lens (ISO 800, 200 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Nine-Years Ago (08-March-2008) — Colorado

Photographic Techniques. Resolution and Focus Testing.

I must have been bored, so spent an afternoon doing some autofocus and resolution testing with some of my cameras and lenses. The goal was to see which combination would be able to focus and provide the highest resolution image of Alexander Hamilton. Ideally, sharp enough to make out the microprint security feature on his shoulder. All of the images were taken with a Nikon D300 camera. The lenses used include a 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro, 200 mm f/2 VR, 300 mm f/2.8 VR, 400 mm f/2.8, and 200-400 mm f/4 VR.

Alexander Hamilton. Autofocus test. Can you find the microprint? Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200-400 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Alexander Hamilton. Autofocus test. Can you find the microprint? Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 VR lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/4, 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre)

Alexander Hamilton. Autofocus test. Can you find the microprint? Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Alexander Hamilton. Autofocus test. Can you find the microprint? Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Alexander Hamilton. Autofocus test. Can you find the microprint? Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (11-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013. Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 14: Tromsø.

Wintertime walkabout in Tromsø, Norway. Part 2: Ships and boats. With its long coastline, Norway is a nautical seafaring nation. I arrived in Tromsø on the MS Nordkapp, a Hurtigruten line ship three days earlier and would leave on a different Hurtigruten ship. On this day there were fishing trawlers, combination passenger ferry/Ro-Ro (roll on, roll off) cargo ships, and a fire/rescue boat named the Wanny Woldstad. Later in the day, the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald stopped in Tromsø. I had been on that ship the winter of 2007. On the way back to the hotel, we watched a combination passenger ferry/Ro-Ro cargo ship be winched out of the water to into a dry dock shipyard.

Haugagut H-50-AV fishing trawler docked in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)

Kamaro fishing trawler docked in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)

Vensøy -- passenger/Ro-Ro cargo ship docked in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre) — Vensøy — passenger/Ro-Ro cargo ship docked in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)

Lenvik fishing trawler docked in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)

Wanny Woldstad -- Tromsø fire and rescue boat. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre) — Wanny Woldstad — Tromsø fire and rescue boat. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)

Hurtigruten line MS Kong Harald docked in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/25 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W and one color). (David J Mathre)

Stallovarre -- passenger/Ro-Ro cargo ship being winched into a dry dock in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre) — Stallovarre — passenger/Ro-Ro cargo ship being winched into a dry dock in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)

Aft rudder and screw on the Stallovarre. A passenger/Ro-Ro cargo ship being winched into a dry dock in Tromsø, Norway. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/5.6, 1/50 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (including conversion to B&W). (David J Mathre)