Tag: Autumn

Five-Years Ago (10-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 5: Williams, Chloride, and Oatman.

When we woke up, there was snow on the ground. Early winter — but Williams is 6766 feet above sea level. The government shutdown continued, and the closure of Grand Canyon National Park continued.  Our van set out for opportunities at lower elevations free of snow.  We traveled to Chloride, a one time silver mining town and now nearly a ghost town. Outside of Chloride, we visited a site where artist Roy Purcell created some modern rock murals back in the 1960’s.  We also visited Oatman, another former gold mining town. Now a tourist destination. But the remaining local residents don’t want the tourists to feed the wild burro’s.

Footsteps in an Early Snowfall (Williams, Arizona). Gone to See America 2013. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Footsteps in an Early Snowfall (Williams, Arizona).  Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 400, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Modern Rock Mural near Chloride by Artist Roy Purcell. There are a lot of very colorful murals in this location started in 1966. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 400, 55 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Modern Rock Mural near Chloride by Artist Roy Purcell. There are a lot of very colorful murals in this location started in 1966. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-120 mm f/4 lens (ISO 400, 55 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Wild Burro (Donkey) in Oatman, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-120 mm lens (ISO 200, 120 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Wild Burro (Donkey) in Oatman, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 24-120 mm lens (ISO 200, 120 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (10-October-2012) — New Mexico

Gone to See America 2012 Road Trip. Day 4: On the Road – Roswell, New Mexico to Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Before leaving for Carlsbad, I stopped back at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge to watch the Sandhill Cranes leave to feed for the day. I was told that one of the places they go to feed is local peanut farms that had been recently plowed. Ever wonder how the salmonella got in the peanut butter a few years ago???

Pair of Sandhill Cranes in Flight. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Roswell. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Pair of Sandhill Cranes in Flight. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Roswell. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/4, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (08-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 3: Sedona to Williams, Arizona.

Prior to leaving Sedona, we spent the morning photographing the morning sun lighting up the red rock buttes. I set up a Nikon D4 camera and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens to record a time-lapse video. I managed to walk in front of the camera a few times.

Eleven-Years Ago (08-October-2007) — New Jersey

Autumn Nature in New Jersey.

Monarch Butterfly. Eleven-years ago while driving home from work I saw purple wild flowers on the side of the road at an abandoned golf course in Hillsborough. I pulled over to see if there was a picture. The purple wildflowers attracted dozens of Monarch butterflies providing more colors.  I took this image with my favorite 80-400 mm telephoto zoom lens. The hard part was working at the minimum focus distance for the lens (~ 7 feet). I needed to keep stepping back to get the image in focus. One more reason I always have a camera with me.

Every year after that I would check the place at the same time of the year, but never saw as many wildflowers or Monarch Butterflies. The last several years the place became a construction site for a highway bypass and interchange. Now that the construction is complete and the bypass open, it looks like wildflowers may come back. We will see if the Monarch Butterflies come back in the future.

Monarch Butterfly. Late Fall Nature in Central New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Monarch Butterfly. Late Fall Nature in Central New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)


Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.

Five-Years Ago (07-October-2013) — Arizona

Gone to See America 2013. Nikonian Annual Photography Adventure Trip. Day 2: Jerome.

Our van spent the morning in Jerome, a historic copper mining town. We then spent some time at the nearby King Mine and Ghost Town.  The mines are no longer active, with tourism supporting the economy of the region.

Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vinyards Sign in Jerome, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/2.5, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vinyards Sign in Jerome, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/2.5, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Simplex E-7 Movie Projector. Jerome, Arizona. Gone to See America 2013. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/4.5, 1/1250 sec). Image processed and converted to B&W with Capture One Pro 7. Nikonians ANPAT-13. (David J Mathre)
Simplex E-7 Movie Projector. Jerome, Arizona. Gone to See America 2013. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/4.5, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Gallery Sign on a Rusted Wall in Jerome, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec). Nikonians ANPAT 13. (David J Mathre)
Gallery Sign on a Rusted Wall in Jerome, Arizona. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 32 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 160, 32 mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec). Nikonians (David J Mathre)