With a clear night sky, I decided to try the new Ricoh Theta Z1 360 degree camera to create some star trails. I set the camera up on my back patio (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). The camera can collect 358 raw (DNG) images which corresponds to just under 5 hours at 60 second exposures. The images were processed with PTGUI, Capture One Pro, and Photoshop CC to create the following 360 degree Equirectangular Panorama, 360 degree Little Planet View, and 360 degree Tunnel View images. I’ve also included a time-lapse video of the night sky
Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Equirectangular Panorama). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Little Planet). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Summertime Night Sky over New Jersey (360 Tunnel View). Composite of 360 images taken with a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera (ISO 400, dual 2.6 mm fisheye lens, f/3.5, 60 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (43.0 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (61.9 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun. A surplus of 18.9 kWh.
I spent the morning working on the patio (time-lapse little planet video). The Grow Towers are doing well. I’ve been harvesting large radishes, broccoli rabe, Swiss chard, and dill. Zinnia and Coreopsis are blooming in the outer cloth pots. I planted Marigold and Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) in the inner set of cloth pots. No Marigold flowers yet, and five of the Roselle are growing fast. Several volunteer tomatillo and/or ground cherry plants also sprouted in the inner set of cloth pots.
A herd of deer passed through the backyard just before it started to rain. Then before the sun went down I noticed a partial double rainbow.
Deer in the Backyard. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Partial Double Rainbow. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Daily Electric Energy Used (62.7 kWh) from Sense. Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (62.0 kWh) from Sense and SolSystems. More sun and a bit of rain. A deficit of 0.7 kWh.
Tropical Storm Isaias Aftermath and Summertime Backyard Nature in New Jersey.
Last night I slept in a dark house with the windows open. It was silent in the house, but you could hear several of the neighbors generators running all night. Power from PSE&G remained off all day. Even though I have solar panels, I can’t used them for safety reasons when the external power is off. By mid-afternoon there was a puddle of water under the fridge/freezer. I don’t know how much food I will lose. I am able to continue working with my computer since the Range Rover can be setup as a WiFi hotspot and has 115 VAC outlets.
In the morning two crews from National Tree Service arrived to clear the two downed Oak trees blocking my driveway and Grandview Road. They worked until mid-afternoon. The cut up sections of the tree were pushed to the side of the road and into my front yard. I set up my Garmin VIRB-360 camera to record the activity. The following nearly 6 minute time-lapse video was extracted from the 8483 images.
After the trees were cleared I took another set of images to create a “blue sky” Little Planet view of the front yard. As well as the remains of the trees, brush, and rock wall that will ultimately need to be cleaned up.
Tropical Storm Isaias Aftermath. Little Planet View of my Front Yard after the Tree Crews Cleared the Downed Oak Trees. Composite of 27 images taken with a Leica CL camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Individual images used to create the above Little Planet view. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Views after the Tree Crews Cleared the Two Downed Oak Trees — East Oak Tree, West Oak Tree, Neighbor’s Rock Wall on the other side of Grandview Road. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.Tropical Storm Isaias Aftermath Day 2 — Post Tree Clearing. Rock Wall on the other side of Grandview Road. Composite of 4 images taken with a Leica CL camera and 18 mm f/2.8 lens (DAVID J MATHRE)
Even thought the power was off, I still could set the camera up to monitor the patio birdfeeders: Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Brown Thrasher, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal.
Afternoon at the Birdfeeder. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Birds of the Day — Blue Jay, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, and Eastern Phoebe. Lots of action at the Eastern Phoebe nest and both parents feed the new hatchlings. It will be interesting to see if they are all Eastern Phoebes or if the Brown-headed Cowbird left any of its eggs in the nest.
Birds of the day. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Spring flowers of the day include Rhododendron, Red Oriental Poppy, Five-spot, Allium, and Foxglove.
Spring Flowers of the Day — Portrait mode. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
Spring Flowers of the Day — Landscape mode. Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.
I spent the afternoon on the patio assembling the new Grow Towers and transplanting the indoor hydroponic strawberry plants to the outdoor Grow Towers. The activity was recorded by a Garmin VIRB-360 camera and used to create a time-lapse Little Planet video.
Daily Electric Energy Used (50.3 kWh) from meter readings the Sense Home Energy Monitor. The daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (85.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Lots of sun in the morning with some clouds in the afternoon. A surplus of 35.6 kWh.
Second day of the trip back home. A Garmin VIRB-360 camera was set up to record the trip as a time-lapse video — presented as a Little Planet drive. A little over 9 hours travel time, 576 miles, and 32 mpg (diesel). For whatever reason, the Garmin didn’t record location info for the entire trip, I used the information recorded by my White Rhino.
Daily Electric Energy Used (58.7 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (28.3 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A deficit of 30.4 kWh. Most of the hydroponic gardens were off or only on for fewer hours. The geothermal HVAC and hybrid heat-pump hot water heater used more energy to bring the house out of vacation mode.
