Thursday (19-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

A Tiny Chipping Sparrow Walked into My Field of View. Thom Hogan calls little birds like this LBJ’s (little brown jobs). I think it is eating the wildflower seeds I put out in my garden yesterday. Since I was on the Semester at Sea Spring 2016 voyage I didn’t get home until it was late for planting wildflower seeds. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 280, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).

Chipping sparrow. Backyard spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 lens (ISO 280, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Chipping sparrow.  Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 lens (ISO 280, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Wednesday (18-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). Thanks to Mary Sperley for help with the identification. I remember seeing them when growing up in the woods in Minnesota. I didn’t know that I have them in my backyard — and that they are native wildflowers that apparently the deer don’t eat.

Jack in the Pulpit flower. Backyard spring nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 60 mm f/2.4 macro lens (ISO 500, 60 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (17-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Daily walkabout. Flowers and Plants captured with a Nikon D810a camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens.


Click on the above image to see the individual images in the slideshow in my PhotoShelter Gallery.


Tuesday (17-May-2016) — New Jersey.

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

A groundhog using a rebar toothpick to clean its teeth. A squirrel with a nut, and a robin in the rain.

Groundhog sharpening its teeth with a piece of rebar. Backyard spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 360, 600 mm, f/5, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Groundhog sharpening its teeth with a piece of rebar. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 360, 600 mm, f/5, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
Squirrel with a nut. Backyard spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Squirrel with a nut. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Robin in the rain. Backyard spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Robin in the rain. Image taken with a Nikon D4 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (17-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

The cost of my new morning model is that she gets to nibble on the clover in the wildflower patch that I planted last fall. She is up every morning just about the time that the sun rises. So far she is very patient as I change cameras and lenses. I have been cleaning and testing the equipment I didn’t have with me on the Semester at Sea voyage. I had forgotten how big and heavy a DSLR and big telephoto lens can be. The real test will be the quality of these images vs. ones with the mirrorless kit that I used for the last 4 months. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).

Rabbit nibbling on a Italian clover flower. Backyard spring in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Rabbit nibbling on a Italian clover flower.  Image taken with a Nikon D3x camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 800, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)