Sunday (22-December-2024) — New Jersey

Ten-Years Ago Today. Poppies and Lupines at Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. (22-Dec-2014, Falkland Islands)

Silhouettes of an Airplane and Jets Passing in Front of the Sun.

Today, I captured images of an airplane and several jets transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I was observing the sun with a Vespera Classic and a Vespera Pro telescope each fitted with a solar filter. The exposure time for solar observations with the Vespera Classic telescope is 250 microseconds (1/4000 sec) and with the Vespera Pro telescope is 1400 microseconds (1/714 sec). The Vespera Classic takes 51-52 solar images per minute and the Vespera Pro takes 8-9 solar images per minute.

Images taken with a Vespera Classic or Vespera-Pro telescope. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)

The comet is getting fainter and the tail much shorter. You may need to look closely; the comet is in the center of the frame. The magnitude is now 10.9. The slideshow displays the 32nd, 64th and 96th stacked composite image (5 min 20 sec, 10 min 40 sec, 16 min). In the last two images there is some movement of the comet head. 

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS). Images taken with a Vespera-Pro Telescope (250 mm, f/5, composites of 10 sec exposures). Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery

Thursday (19-December-2024) — New Jersey

Ten-Years Ago Today. Ocean Tramp anchored at the harbor in Ushuaia, Argentina. (19-Dec-2014)

Flock of Geese Passing the Sun.

Today, I captured an image of a flock of geese transiting the sun while looking at the sunspots (we are at or near the solar maximum). I assume the geese are flying south before the snow predicted for tomorrow. I was viewing the sun with a Vespera Classic automated telescope using a solar filter. The exposure time for solar observations with the Vespera Classic telescope is 250 microseconds (1/4000 sec) 

Flock of geese transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.
Flock of geese transiting the sun with sunspots. Image taken with a Vaonis Vespera Classic Telescope (200 mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec) with a solar filter.

Monday (16-December-2024) — New Jersey

Fifteen-Years Ago Today. Surfer Girl at Hookipa Beach Park. (16-Dec-2009, Maui)

Image of the Day.

For the image of the day, I select an image from the past taken on this day of the year. I now have over a million digital images going back to 2006 when I got my first DSLR camera, a Nikon D200 for a cross-country road trip. I have a few other digital images from a Polaroid PDC 700 point and shoot from before 2006.

The “Surfer Girl” image was taken while in Hawaii for a Pacific Chemistry scientific meeting. I had the morning off and went for a drive along the coast. I stopped at Ho’okipa Beach Park and went to a section overlooking the beach. It was windy and there were some big waves. I could see some folks surfing the waves at a distance of 300-400 feet. For the trip, my travel camera was a Nikon D3x with a 70-300 mm zoom lens. At that time the 24-megapixel sensor was state of the art — great for landscapes or portraits with a steady tripod. But it was slow, not really suited for fast moving sports. Maybe 2 shots/second burst rate that quickly filled the buffer. I took a number of shots of the surfers out on the big waves.

It wasn’t till I downloaded the images later that evening that I realized I captured this great shot out of a 15-shot sequence taken over 8 seconds. Having a 24-megapixel image allowed me crop and zoom in on the surfer. I posted a cropped image on my photoblog and on Google+. A print of the image won an award at a Photography Show in Florida. I posted it on my photoblog and on Google+. Later, I found out it ended up in some surfer sites and it had been used in time-share and condo rental advertisements. Probably, my most stolen image.

Below, I show the original image sequence along with reprocessed versions of the sequence with currently available tools. DxO Pure Raw (Camera/Lens correction), Capture One Pro (Levels and High-Dynamic Range), and Topaz AI (sharpening).

Original RAW Image Sequence (2009, NEF)
Image Sequence Processed with Capture One (2024, TIF)
Image Sequence Processed with DxO Pure Raw (2024, TIF)
Image Sequence Processed with DxO Pure Raw and Capture One (2024, TIF)
Image Sequence Processed with DxO Pure Raw, Capture One, and Topaz AI (2o24, TIFF)
Image Sequence Processed with DxO Pure Raw, Capture One, and Topaz AI (2o24, JPEG)

Saturday (30-October-2021) — New Jersey

Autumn Backyard Nature in New Jersey.

Birds of the day viewed at the birdfeeder and in the backyard: Black-capped Chickadee, House Finch.


> Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

During the rain and wind storm last night the two of the tie-down stakes holding the storage shed I assembled yesterday pulled out of the ground. According to my weather station, the wind gusted to nearly 30 mph during the night. I should have tied the shed to the pallet with a ton of steel pipes for the deer fence.

Storage Shed off base. (David J Mathre)
Storage Shed blown off base. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (David J Mathre)

In addition to resetting the Storage Shed, projects for the day included assembling two workbenches and moving/inventorying the steel pipe for the deer fence.

Daily Electric Energy Used (43.6 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (23.4 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. Sun and clouds. Deficit of 20.2 kWh.