Four-Years Ago (30-January-2016) — At Sea

Gone to See the World. Semester at Sea Spring 2016 Voyage on the MV World Odyssey. Day 25: At Sea, Traveling from Kobe, Japan to Shanghai, China.

There were a lot of fishing boats out in the East China Sea as we proceeded to Shanghai. Along with the fishing boats many Seagulls followed our ship. I think that I was able to identify Black-tailed Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake. I previously miss identified some Black-Tailed Gulls as Slaty-backed Gull. I admit gulls are difficult to identify since they go through several morphs over four years before getting to their adult state. I look at images in several books and internet sources.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Black-tailed Gull viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 149 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec). (David J Mathre)
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Black-tailed Gull viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
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Black-legged Kittiwake viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Black-legged Kittiwake viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Black-legged Kittiwake viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/4.8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Black-tailed Gull viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Black-legged Kittiwake viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Black-legged Kittiwake viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 200, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Group of Black-tailed Gull viewed from the deck of the MV World Odyssey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 55-200 mm lens (ISO 400, 200 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (29-January-2020) — New Jersey

Wintertime Backyard Night Sky Over New Jersey.

The night sky was clear and I haven’t done star trails for some time. I set up a Nikon D850 camera with a 8-15 mm fisheye lens (ISO 800, 15 mm, f/8, 30 sec) on my patio to collect a series of night sky images. The images were processed with Capture One Pro and the composite star trails created using Photoshop CC (scripts, statistics, maximum).


Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.



Click on the above image to access my PhotoShelter gallery with the individual images in the following slideshow.


Daily Electric Energy Used (78.2 kWh) from Sense Home Energy Monitor and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (39.5 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A sunny day. A deficit of 38.7 kWh.

Current Weather Conditions


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One-Year Ago (29-January-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Wintertime Nature in New Jersey.

Carolina Wren, House Finch, Black-capped Chickadee, and Mourning Dove.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Carolina Wren at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1100, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
House Finch at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 2500, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Blacked-capped Chickadee at a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 800, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).
alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Mourning Dove below a bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 2500, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).

Thirteen-Years Ago (29-January-2007) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2007 Family Winter Vacation. Day 9: Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald Norwegian Coastal Voyage Northbound (Båtsfjord to Kirkenes) then Southbound (Kirkenes to Berlevåg).

There were a dozen or so Black-tailed Ducks swimming in the icy waters as we departed Kirkenes, Norway on the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald. It was cold enough out that ice was forming on the surface of the salt water.

Long-tailed Duck from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald while departing Kirkenes, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 85 mm, f/4.5, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long-tailed Duck from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald while departing Kirkenes, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 85 mm, f/4.5, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long-tailed Duck from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald while departing Kirkenes, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec). (David J Mathre)
Long-tailed Duck from the deck of the Hurtigruten MS Kong Harald while departing Kirkenes, Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec). (David J Mathre)