Sunday (06-May-2018) — New Jersey

First Sunday in the Park — Springtime Wildflowers.

This month the First Sunday in the Park event was a walk in Cherry Hill Preserve with Sarah Roberts looking for Spring Wildflowers and other new spring growth in the woods. The first wildflowers we saw were field of small white and pink Spring Beauties. We then passed some Sensitive Ferns. Sarah showed us the May Apple plants and told us to look for the flower buds. I actually found one where the flower had opened. We were told that the May Apples are spread by Box Turtles. I used to find Box Turtles in my back yard. We then found some Jack in the Pulpit plants and flowers. We also saw some Dogwood trees with flowers, and small Violets. Lots of other trees. Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.

Sarah Roberts Waiting to start the First Sunday in the Park Wildflower Walk in the Cherry Hill Preserve. . Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (David J Mathre)
Sarah Roberts Waiting to start the First Sunday in the Park Wildflower Walk in the Cherry Hill Preserve. . Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (David J Mathre)







End of Wildflower Walk. . Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 60 mm f/2.4 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
End of Wildflower Walk. . Image taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 60 mm f/2.4 macro lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Nine-Years Ago (22-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 5: Volcano National Park.

Fern Composition. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/6.3, 1/60 sec) with SB-800 fill flash.

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Fern Composition, Volcanoes National Park Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 28 mm, f/6.3, 1/60 sec) with SB-800 fill flash (David J Mathre)

Thursday (22-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 5: Volcano National Park.

Early Thanksgiving morning we went to see the sun rise over the Kilauea volcano crater. There was no activity in the caldera, but the black and orange clouds looked like lava. While returning to the lodge we noticed a Nene. A Hawaiian goose. It looks a lot like Canada geese, but it does not migrate. The Nene almost went extinct, and are now protected. You can see the tags on its legs. Before lunch we spent more time on composition. I worked on the clump of ferns. I then worked on some macro images of a stone with green Peridot Crystals (Pele’s Tears). That afternoon we were treated to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner as well as local specialties.


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Wednesday (21-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 4: Kona and Volcano National Park.

I woke up early, and walked to the harbor where I saw a group rowing a Hawaiian outrigger canoe with a cruise ship in the background.  I liked the juxtaposition of historical and modern. We then checked out of the hotel and traveled to Volcano National Park. After checking into the lodge, we went for a photo-walk down a tropical rain forest trail.  The lessons here included using a flash, how to manually focus a macro lens, how to adjust the focus for camera viewfinder, and always thinking about the composition.

Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe and Cruise Liner Early Morning on Kona Bay. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Hawaiian Outrigger Canoe and Cruise Liner Early Morning on Kona Bay. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 12-24 mm f/4 lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)