Sunday (10-February-2008) — New Jersey

Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey: Fresh Snow.

Afternoon walkabout with a macro lens. Fresh snow on red holly berries and fall leaves.

Red Holly Berries with Fresh Snow. Winter in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/8, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Red Holly Berries with Fresh Snow. Winter in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/8, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Fresh Snow on Leaf. Winter in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)
Fresh Snow on Leaf. Winter in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60 sec) (David J Mathre)

Sunday (30-December-2007) — New Jersey

Currency & Stamps: Micro-print.

One method I use to test the resolution of cameras and lenses is to see well the combinations perform. The US $50 bill has “The United States of America” printed using very small letters. A copy machine would have difficulty resolving something this small.

Camera & Lens Testing. United States of America micro-print on a US $50 bill. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens with a TC-E II 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 m, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Camera & Lens Testing. United States of America micro-print on a US $50 bill. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens with a TC-E II 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 m, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Camera & Lens Testing. United States of America micro-print on a US $50 bill. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens with a TC-E II 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 m, f/4, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Camera & Lens Testing. United States of America micro-print on a US $50 bill. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens with a TC-E II 2x teleconverter (ISO 200, 400 m, f/4, 1/250 sec). (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.


[pw_map address=”19.425283, -155.2539″ width=”600px” height=”400px” enablecontrols=”true” “key=”AIzaSyDzSJfuf50JPAE5AllQz8iLyENq3jp1rR”]

Monday (19-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 2: Wildlife at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historic Park.

We spent the afternoon through sunset at Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historic Park. There were some Hawaiian Green sea turtles resting on the beach at Keoneele Cove. When I was supposed to be working on a composition of one of the temples, I found this bright green gecko with blue eyes that kept posing for my macro lens.



[pw_map address=”19.42245, -155.9109″ width=”600px” height=”400px” enablecontrols=”true” “key=”AIzaSyDzSJfuf50JPAE5AllQz8iLyENq3jp1rR”]

[pw_map address=”19.42213, -155.9123″ width=”600px” height=”400px” enablecontrols=”true” “key=”AIzaSyDzSJfuf50JPAE5AllQz8iLyENq3jp1rR”]