Wednesday (18-July-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Nighttime Summer Sky Over New Jersey.

Another clear night and I set up three cameras. Two to record firefly trails, and the other to record the nighttime sky for star trails. I still need to do some testing, but it seems that the Nikon sensors do a better job with low light images (less sensor noise). And among the Nikon sensors, the D810a camera does better with exposures over 30 seconds. In addition to the star trails, I also did a time-lapse video of the night sky.

Firefly trails. Composite of 178 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 1600, 200 mm, f/11, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and composite generated using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Firefly trails. Composite of 178 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 1600, 200 mm, f/11, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and composite generated using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)


Star Trails looking up and a little south. Composite of 697 of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 19 mm f/4 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 19 mm, f/4, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite generated using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Star Trails looking up and a little south. Composite of 697 of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 19 mm f/4 PC-E lens (ISO 200, 19 mm, f/4, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and the composite generated using Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Wednesday (27-June-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Summer Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

Firefly Trails using a Nikon D850 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens.

Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/16, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of images taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR telephoto lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/16, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)

 

Monday (18-June-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

It rained early in the evening, and then again early in the morning so I wasn’t able to leave the cameras out as long. I also reduced the shutter time to 30 seconds on the Fuji X-H1 camera due to sensor noise. I am wondering if the issue with the sensor noise is the temperature outside?

Firefly Trails. Composite of 476 images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Define 2, and Surface Pro Book 2. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 476 images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Define 2, and Surface Pro Book 2. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 472 images taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Define 2, and Surface Pro Book 2. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 472 images taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Define 2, and Surface Pro Book 2. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 472 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 58 mm f/1.4 lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Define 2, and Surface Pro Book 2. (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 472 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 58 mm f/1.4 lens. Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, Define 2, and Surface Pro Book 2. (David J Mathre)

Friday (15-June-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Nighttime Nature in New Jersey.

Firefly trails. I added long exposure noise reduction to the Fuji X-H1 camera for the 120 second exposures. It helps, but reduces the number of images that can be taken by half. Bottom line, the Nikon D810a camera does a better job for long exposures.

Firefly Trails. Composite of 541 images taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 3200, 200 mm, f/8. 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 541 images taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 3200, 200 mm, f/8. 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 157 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 58 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 58 mm, f/8. 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 157 images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 58 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 1600, 58 mm, f/8. 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 72 images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 1600, 58 mm, f/8. 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 72 images taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 1600, 58 mm, f/8. 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and PhotoShop CC (statistics, maximum). (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (13-June-2018) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature at Night.

More firefly trails shot from my backdoor. It was a bit warmer out. With the Nikon D5 and 200 mm f/2 lens I moved the focus a bit closer to the camera so the flashes at a distance had more Bokah.

Firefly Trails. Composite of 541 mages taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 1600, 200 mm, f/11, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 541 mages taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 1600, 200 mm, f/11, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 188 mages taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 58 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 58mm, f/8, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 188 mages taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 58 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 58mm, f/8, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 656 mages taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 3200, 56 mm, f/8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 656 mages taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 3200, 56 mm, f/8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 656 mages taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 3200, 56 mm, f/8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)
Firefly Trails. Composite of 656 mages taken with a Fuji X-H1 camera and 56 mm f/1.2 lens (ISO 3200, 56 mm, f/8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum) (David J Mathre)