Monday (08-April-2013) — New Jersey

Indoor Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

When I woke up this morning, I saw this large spider on the floor of my bedroom. I haven’t seen spiders of this size in the house recently. I guess that it is finding something to eat. From one view, this spider appears to be working on an ant (or wasp). To get the close up I had to get down low and for one of the images had the camera on the floor and used the “live view” image on the back of the camera to frame and focus. I need to get the wireless with the camera working so I can work from my Surface Pro tablet computer.

Indoor Spider. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec) and ring flash. (David J Mathre)
Indoor Spider. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec) and ring flash. (David J Mathre)
Indoor Spider. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec) and ring flash. (David J Mathre)
Indoor Spider. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec) and ring flash. (David J Mathre)

Monday (01-April-2013) — New Jersey

Indoor Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

I noticed this stink bug crawling up the wall. I didn’t see as many this winter. Is this the start of a spring invasion? [Note added later. This is not a stink bug, but rather a western conifer bug. The stink bugs are wider and more squat. The conifer bug are longer, and more narrow.]

Stink Bug - Indoor Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec) using a Ring Flash. (David J Mathre)
Stink Bug (not) rather a Western Conifer Bug – Indoor Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec) using a Ring Flash. (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (01-April-2007) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

While reviewing some images from 6 years ago, I noticed a spider hiding in a daffodil bloom. It is always fun to go back and review old images – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes to learn from previous mistakes, other times to discover things in the images that I missed. This is one reason that I don’t delete many images.

Spider in a Daffodil Bloom. Early Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Spider in a Daffodil Bloom. Early Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Spider in a Daffodil Bloom. Early Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)
Spider in a Daffodil Bloom. Early Spring Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/60 sec). (David J Mathre)

Monday (25-February-2013) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey: Spring is Coming!!!

When going to mail a letter today, I noticed that the Purple Crocuses were in bloom along a south-facing rock wall. Early, but not as early as last year 17-February-2012. Last year I used the Nikon 1 V1 camera, this year the new Nikon 1 V2 camera. This is the first time I used the 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (with the FT1 adapter) with a Nikon 1 camera.

Early Purple Crocus Bloom -- Spring is Coming!!! Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2, FT2 adapter and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Early Purple Crocus Bloom — Spring is Coming!!! Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2, FT2 adapter and 60 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, 60 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (26-December-2007) — Florida

Gone to See America. December 2007 Florida Road Trip. Day 5: Sarasota.

I was walking down a trail at Selby Gardens when I saw this red crab spider eating a fly that got caught in the spider’s web. I had never seen a crab spider before. It was hard to get a sharp image since the web was moving in the wind. I used a ring flash to try to freeze the motion.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Crab Spider eating a Fly at Selby Gardens. Image taken with an Nikon D300 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 sec, ring flash). (David J Mathre)

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