Thursday (26-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Last fall my contractor cleared a section of my backyard and started digging a depression for a small pond. We didn’t finish the pond before winter and my round the world Spring Semester at Sea Voyage. With all of the rain this spring the hole filled up with water. I now have a pond in progress. I was pleased to see that frogs (and turtles) have already discovered the pond. I managed to get a picture of this frog before it jumped into the water this morning. When you look closely you can see two mosquitoes on the back of the frog. I had hoped that the frogs (or tadpoles) would take care of the mosquito larva in the pond. I may need to get some goldfish to add to the pond.

Kermit the Bullfrog Near a Pond in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor].

Kermit the Bullfrog Near a Pond in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor]. (David J Mathre)
Kermit the Bullfrog Near a Pond in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Eight-Years Ago (09-September-2007) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

While out looking for butterflies, I came upon a Monarch butterfly feeding on a yellow Tick Weed. A bit later saw another Monarch butterfly that had been captured by a Praying Mantis and was being eaten for breakfast. A Darwin Award for this Monarch butterfly that won’t make it to Mexico this year. Kermit, a very large Bullfrog was waiting in the mud next to the pond. You wonder what he has been eating?


Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.



Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.


Three-Years Ago (02-July-2011) — New Jersey

Summer Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Kermit the Bullfrog in the pond at the local Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5.

Kermit the Bullfrog at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Kermit the Bullfrog at the Sourland Mountain Reserve. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, Nik Define, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (04-September-2013) — New Jersey

Late Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Kermit the Bullfrog in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera + FT1 + 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor]

Kermit the Bullfrog in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 + FT1 + 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor] (David J Mathre)
Kermit the Bullfrog in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 + FT1 + 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor] (David J Mathre)

Friday (10-August-2012) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Harvey the Bullfrog. I took the same image of this bullfrog using a Nikon D4 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 telephoto lens at different apertures. The camera and lens were mounted on a gimbal tripod. This version of the 400 mm lens does not have vibration reduction, but the heavy weight of the lens plus good long lens techniques minimized the impact of vibration due to mirror and shutter motion. The aperture was changed from f/2.8 to f/8 to see the impact on depth of view. The following are significant crops of the original images.

Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 400 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 160, 400 mm, f/4, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 560, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bullfrog in a Pond. Summer Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 400 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 560, 400 mm, f/8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)