Indoor Crane Fly. A macro image of a Crane Fly. It looks like an over sized mosquito, but does not bite. It has a hard time flying, and its legs seem to be double jointed. This Crane Fly is missing its right front leg. The green compound eyes are interesting. I guess that this one got in while I was trying to do some night sky photography. The sky has actually been clear for two days straight. For this Crane Fly image, I used my Nikon D300 camera since the other camera bodies were outside for the night sky project.
Indoor Crane Fly. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec) with SB-900 flash. (David J Mathre)
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%). 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%). 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%). 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%). 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%). 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%). 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%). 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)
Autumn Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve.
Worldwide Photo Walk 2011. Convergence. Yesterday I was thinking, weather permitting that I should go the nearby Sourland Mountain Preserve to see if I could photograph any late season Monarch butterflies. For the last several years I have seen the last group of Monarch butterflies before they fly south to Mexico the last week of September (+/- 2 weeks). Also yesterday, I was noticing some issues with access to my photo blog (speed to load, and searching results). I woke up very early, and access to the photo blog appeared be working. While checking Google+ I saw a reminder from Scott Kelby about his 2011 Worldwide Photo Walk’s this weekend. When I checked online, I saw that one of the Worldwide Photo Walks (led by Frank Veronsky) would be at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. I signed up (it was 4 AM, and raining). When I woke up again at 8 AM it had stopped raining but still cloudy. I got to there early to scout out if there were any thistle blooms left. Unfortunately, all of the thistles were brown and there were only a few yellow wildflowers. The trails were also very muddy from all of the rain we have been having for the last 2 months. I actually went home at this point to switch to a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4 lens since I knew it would be relatively dark on the trails. I got back in time to meet up with the Worldwide Photo Walk group at the Sourland Mountain Preserve parking lot and started up on the trails a little after 10 AM. The following images are of some of the woodland forest trails in the Preserve. By the end of the Photo Walk, I only saw one Monarch butterfly, and it didn’t stay still long enough for me to get an image.
Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 450, 50 mm, f/8, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 280, 50 mm, f/8, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 320, 50 mm, f/8, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail. Image taken with a Nikon D3s cameraand 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 800, 50 mm, f/8, 1/40 sec). (David J Mathre)Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 320, 50 mm, f/8, 1/50 sec). (David J Mathre)Sourland Mountain Preserve Trail. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 200, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre)
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)
Gone to See America 2007 Road Trip. Nikonians ANPAT 7 Day 6: Yellowstone National Park.
Dead trees in a salt flat downstream from the Mammoth Springs geyser. In the northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park.
Dead Trees, Mammoth Springs. Yellowstone National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 32 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec) (David J Mathre)
