Tag: Montgomery Township

Thursday (27-June-2024) — New Jersey

Independence Day Fireworks

Montgomery Township typically celebrates Independence Day with fireworks several days before the 4th of July. There was some grumbling that the fireworks overlapped the debate. The fireworks were scheduled a long time before the debate. I live near a great location that overlooks the high school where the township holds the Independence Day celebration. It is away from the crowds. I got there just before sunset. One car arrived before me but there was still plenty of space to set up the tripods and cameras. Last year, one camera wasn’t in focus so I spent more time get all of the cameras set up, framed and focused. Confirmed that they all memory cards and full batteries. Also, since the cameras were all on tripods, I made sure that the “vibration reduction/stabilization” was turned off. As it got dark a few fireflies were visible. I set the cameras up as follows: Base ISO (50, 64, or 160), f/11, 8 second exposure. The fireworks started just before 21:25. It took a little bit of time to confirm the framing, focus, and to start the interval timers.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Individual images in the slideshow are available in my PhotoShelter Gallery.

Solar Energy Monitor

I use a Sense Home Energy Monitor to record my daily electric energy used (78.7 kWh) and daily solar electric energy produced (71.1 kWh). Mostly sunny and hot with a Water Furnace geothermal system cooling the house. Deficit of 7.6 kWh for the day.

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Seven-Years Ago (30-June-2011) — New Jersey

Summer in New Jersey. Independence Day Fireworks Video.

DSLR video of the 30-June-2011 Montgomery Township Fireworks display. The Nikon D3s camera is limited to 5 minute HD (720P) video segments. I ended up with three 5 minute segments. I left the in-camera sound recording on to get the sound effects of the fireworks. I also got commentary about the fireworks from a family sitting in front of my tripod. At one point you can hear a train whistle. The other clicking sound is the shutter of my other cameras. I used Adobe Premiere Pro to combine the first and third segments, zoomed in a bit so the firework display takes up more of the image, and increased the volume. I also used Premiere Pro to add a title page to the video.

Thursday (28-June-2018) — New Jersey

Montgomery Township New Jersey Independence Day Fireworks.

My local township typically has an Independence Day fireworks celebration several days before the 4th of July. This year it was almost a week earlier. We had heavy rain in the morning, but by the afternoon things pretty much cleared up. I have a great location near my house that has a view that is above the high school where the fireworks are launched. In all I had five cameras set up to record the event. Individual images can be viewed here. While waiting for the fireworks to start, we watched the “Strawberry” full moon rise through some low clouds. Unfortunately, it was too late to find a different location where the full moon would be in the images with the fireworks.

Strawberry Full Moon Rising Through the Clouds over Montgomery Township. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/11, 6 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)
Strawberry Full Moon Rising Through the Clouds over Montgomery Township. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/11, 6 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro. (David J Mathre)

Montgomery Township Independence Day Fireworks. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/11, 8 sec) (David J Mathre)
Montgomery Township Independence Day Fireworks. Image taken with a Nikon D850 camera and 105 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 64, 105 mm, f/11, 8 sec) (David J Mathre)





Six-Years Ago (28-June-2012) — New Jersey

Montgomery Township New Jersey Independence Day Fireworks.

Montgomery Township in New Jersey typically has an Independence Day fireworks celebration several days before the 4th of July. Like this year it was almost a week earlier. I have a great location near my house that has a view that is above the high school where the fireworks are launched. This was the first time I was able to use the new high-resolution Nikon D800 to photograph a fireworks display. In all I had five cameras set up to record the event. Individual images can be viewed here.

Montgomery Township Fireworks. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/11, 8 sec). (David J Mathre)
Montgomery Township Fireworks. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 200 mm f/2 lens (ISO 100, 200 mm, f/11, 8 sec). (David J Mathre)




Sunday (08-April-2018) — New Jersey

Early Springtime Backyard Nature and A Geology Walk at Rock Mill Preserve.

Several small birds working the bird feeder greeted me in the morning. I switched to a Nikon D4 camera and 600 mm f/4 lens on a Wembly tripod just inside the patio door. The camera is just past the minimum focus distance for this camera/lens combination. Birds captured include: Tufted Titmouse, Black Eyed Junco, Chipping Sparrow, House Finch, American Robin, and Black Crow. Later, in the afternoon I attended a monthly “Sunday Walk in the Park” events. This month the subject was the geology in central New Jersey and took place at Rock Mill Preserve, located within walking distance from my house.



Individual images from the slide shows can be viewed here.