One-Year Ago (24-May-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Startrails Looking South From My Backyard in New Jersey. Composite of 400 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC. In the past I used the startrails.exe program to process the images. This time I made the composite using Scripts/Statistics Stack Mode = Maximum within Photoshop CC 2015.

Startrails Looking South From My Backyard in New Jersey. Composite of 400 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC. In the past I used Startrails.exe to process the images. This time I made the composite using Scripts/Statistics Stack Mode = Maximum within Photoshop CC 2015. (David J Mathre)
Startrails Looking South From My Backyard in New Jersey. Composite of 400 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)

Monday (23-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Afternoon stretch following the thunderstorms. Image taken with a Nikon D810A camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 250, 400 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). This rabbit is pushing the minimum focus distance for this lens…

Afternoon Stretch Following the Thunderstorm. Image taken with a Nikon D810A camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 250, 400 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Afternoon stretch following the thunderstorm. Image taken with a Nikon D810A camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 250, 400 mm, f/2.8, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)

Three-Years Ago (22-May-2013) — Ireland

Gone to See Europe. Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage on the MV Explorer. Ultimate Travel Photography Workshop IV with Michael Mariant. Day 26: Dublin, Ireland.

North Bull Lighthouse at the Entrance to Dublin Harbor at the End of Bull Wall (most of which is now underwater). Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 6 camera (ISO 100, 17.7 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 sec).

North Bull Lighthouse at the Entrance to Dublin Harbor at the End of Bull Wall (most of which is now underwater). Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 6 camera (ISO 100, 17.7 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 sec). Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage. (David J Mathre)
North Bull Lighthouse at the Entrance to Dublin Harbor at the End of Bull Wall (most of which is now underwater). Image taken with a Leica V-Lux 6 camera (ISO 100, 17.7 mm, f/2.8, 1/320 sec). Semester at Sea Spring 2013 Enrichment Voyage. (David J Mathre)

Thursday (19-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Waxing Gibbous – Nearly Full Moon Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Handheld using the lens optical image stabilization (OIS).

Waxing gibbous (nearly full) moon. Backyard night sky in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Waxing gibbous (nearly full) moon. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (19-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

The new Fujinon XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR telephoto lens arrived this afternoon. It was not available before the Semester at Sea voyage. I took it out for a few shots while the sun was still out. My initial impression is favorable. The Fuji X-T1 camera and new lens is about 1 kg lighter than a corresponding Nikon D4 and 80-400mm VRII lens. The Fuji lens does not focus as fast as the Nikon lens, but the focus appears to accurate. I will take it out to the Sourland Preserve this weekend for some field testing. I do want to see if the focus will be fast enough to catch birds in flight.

Cluster of rhododendron flowers. Backyard spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/14, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Cluster of rhododendron flowers. Backyard spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/14, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)