Friday (04-October-2019) — New Jersey

Autumn Indoor Nature in New Jersey.

The two AeroGarden Bounty Gardens have been online for 10 days with a variety of wildflowers. So far in the first garden, two types of Cosmos, two types of Zinnia, a Marigold, Blanket Flower, Sweet Alyssum, and two types of Coreopsis have sprouted. In the second garden the Crimson Clover, a Red Poppy (mix), Blue Cornflower, and Lupine have sprouted. The California Poppy, Oriental Poppy, Red Poppy, Purple Cornflower, and Lemon Mint have not sprouted. It appears that the support for the seeds for some of the ones that have not sprouted are dry. I wet them from the top to see is anything happens?

AeroGarden Foyer Bounty Left at 10 days. 1) Cosmos Dwarf Sensation; 2) Cosmos Early Dwarf; 3) Zinnia Thumbelina; 4) Zinnia Lilliput Mix; 5) Marigold Sparky Mix; 6) Blanket Flower; 7) Sweet Alyssum; 8) Coreopsis Lance-leaf; 9) Coreopsis Plains. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Foyer Bounty Left at 10 days. 1) Cosmos Dwarf Sensation; 2) Cosmos Early Dwarf; 3) Zinnia Thumbelina; 4) Zinnia Lilliput Mix; 5) Marigold Sparky Mix; 6) Blanket Flower; 7) Sweet Alyssum; 8) Coreopsis Lance-leaf; 9) Coreopsis Plains. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Foyer Bounty Right at 10 days. 1) Crimson Clover, ; 2) California Poppy; 3) Oriental Poppy; 4) Red Poppy Mix; 5) Red Poppy; 6) Blue Cornflower; 7) Purple Cornflower; 8) Lemon Mint; 9) Lupine. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Foyer Bounty Right at 10 days. 1) Crimson Clover, ; 2) California Poppy; 3) Oriental Poppy; 4) Red Poppy Mix; 5) Red Poppy; 6) Blue Cornflower; 7) Purple Cornflower; 8) Lemon Mint; 9) Lupine. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (53.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Partly sunny and still cool outside. The Geothermal HVAC system wasn’t needed. Computers, Servers and AV (20.2 kWh), Hydroponics (11.3 kWh), Kitchen (2.6 kWh), Laundry (3.3 kWh), Well and Hot Water (1.0 kWh). Overall a net deficit of 11.3 kWh.

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Two-Years Ago (22-December-2014) — Falkland Islands

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/2015. Hurtigruten Christmas Voyage on the MS Fram. Day 7: Stanley, Falkland Islands.

Poppies and Lupines. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.

Poppies and Lupines at at a Flower Garden. Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC. (David J Mathre)
Poppies and Lupines at at a Flower Garden. Christ Church Cathedral, Stanley. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 56 mm, f/11, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five Years Ago (04-January-2011) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 9: Hosteria El Pilar and Perito Moreno Glacier.

I woke up to more orange clouds at dawn. This time they covered Mount Fitzroy, but you could see the glacier. Before we left Hosteria El Pilar near El Chalten I took some pictures of the lupines in bloom. We then headed into Los Glaciares National Park. where I took a panorama image of Perito Moreno Glacier. As with the previous panorama images, these are best viewed in full screen mode.

Patagonia Dawn Panorama from Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Composite of 5 image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/4) using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. Unfortunately Fitzroy is hidden in the orange clouds. (David J Mathre)
Patagonia Dawn Panorama from Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Composite of 5 image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/4) using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. Unfortunately Fitzroy is hidden in the orange clouds. (David J Mathre)



Individual images from the slide-show can be viewed here.

Three-Years Ago (04-January-2011) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 9: Hosteria El Pilar and Perito Moreno Glacier.

I got up early for one final view of Mount Fitz Roy at dawn but it was hidden behind the orange clouds. Still a dramatic panorama. Before leaving, I got more colorful lupine flower images.  After a long drive, we arrived at Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park.

Patagonia Dawn Panorama from Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Composite of 5 image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/4) using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. Unfortunately Fitzroy is hidden in the orange clouds. (David J Mathre)
Patagonia Dawn Panorama from Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina. Composite of 5 image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/4) using Kolor AutoPano Giga Pro. Unfortunately Fitzroy is hidden in the orange clouds. (David J Mathre)
Lupines at Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina - Patagonia. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lupines at Hosteria El Pilar in El Chalten, Argentina – Patagonia. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 50 mm f/1.4G lens (ISO 400, 50 mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, f/22, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Perito Moreno Glacier, Los Glaciares National Park. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 200, f/22, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (30-December-2010) — Argentina

Gone to See Patagonia 2010/2011. Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 4: Estancia Helsingfors.

This was our first full day at Helsingfors. We started out by getting up early (before sunrise) to see if Fitzroy would be visible, and if there would be any interesting colors. Since this is summer in the southern hemisphere – getting up early means before 4:30 AM. Helsingfors is right on Lago Viedma so we didn’t have to walk far. Fitzroy presents a side view from Helsingfors, and can potentially be seen lit up both at sunrise and sunset. This morning it was not very visible being hidden behind clouds. I did get a panorama of the mountain right across the lake. Later, when it was light I took some images of Lupines with the lake and the mountains to the north. Before lunch, the group worked on techniques for taking images of Horses. A local Gaucho rounded up a small herd of horses and we got to photograph them in the corral, running in a field, and crossing a small stream. In the afternoon, the group went on its first short hike to a point just beyond the Helsingfors property in the National Park. On the way I found a small waterfall and spent some time with Thom working out how to best capture the image. The wind was very strong at the point. Coming back from the hike we found many examples of the local Green Orchid, which we tried to capture with macro lenses. The sun doesn’t go down until late, and it is after 10 PM when we are trying to capture some images of Fitzroy lit up as the sun goes down. All in all, a very long day but well worth every minute.

Sunrise Panorama across Lago Viedma from Estancia Helsingfors. Composite of 7 images taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens. (David J Mathre)
Sunrise Panorama across Lago Viedma from Estancia Helsingfors. Composite of 7 images taken with a Nikon D3x and 50 mm f/1.4G lens. (David J Mathre)