Tag: New Jersey

Monday (30-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

My first poppy flower opened in the rain this morning. Appropriate for Memorial Day. Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec).

First Poppy Flower to open. Appropriately on Memorial Day Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
First Poppy Flower to open. Appropriately on Memorial Day Image taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 100-400 mm OIS lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

Saturday (28-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Spring Nature in New Jersey

Last fall I planted a section of wildflowers on the east side of the house where I used to have a kitchen garden. Until yesterday, the only flowers were Crimson (Italian) clover. Last night I noticed some other flowers about to open. This morning there were three California Poppy flowers, and one blue Cornflower (Bachelor Button). It looks like there will be many more Cornflowers. I also saw some other varieties of poppies about to open. As I was about to go back inside, I noticed a Snowberry Clearwing (hummingbird) moth feeding on the Rhododendron flowers. Previously, I had only seen hummingbird moths later in the season and only at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. There they favored Joe Pye Weed and Thistle flowers.

Crimson clover or Italian clover (Trifolium incarnatum). Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Crimson clover or Italian clover (Trifolium incarnatum). Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Crimson clover or Italian clover (Trifolium incarnatum). Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 450, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Crimson clover or Italian clover (Trifolium incarnatum). Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 450, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)


California Poppy. Individual images in the Slideshow can be viewed by clicking on the above image.


Bachelor Button (Blue Cornflower) Wildflower. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Bachelor Button (Blue Cornflower) Wildflower. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)


Snowberry Clearwing moth feeding on Rhododendron flowers.Individual images in the Slideshow can be viewed by clicking on the above image.


Four-Years Ago (28-May-2012) — New Jersey

Springtime Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve.

Canada Goose with Aquatic Grass in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec).

Canadian Goose with Aquatic Grass in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
Canadian Goose with Aquatic Grass in a Pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (26-May-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Nature in New Jersey.

Last fall my contractor cleared a section of my backyard and started digging a depression for a small pond. We didn’t finish the pond before winter and my round the world Spring Semester at Sea Voyage. With all of the rain this spring the hole filled up with water. I now have a pond in progress. I was pleased to see that frogs (and turtles) have already discovered the pond. I managed to get a picture of this frog before it jumped into the water this morning. When you look closely you can see two mosquitoes on the back of the frog. I had hoped that the frogs (or tadpoles) would take care of the mosquito larva in the pond. I may need to get some goldfish to add to the pond.

Kermit the Bullfrog Near a Pond in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor].

Kermit the Bullfrog Near a Pond in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). [FOV Equivalent to ~ 810 mm on a 35 mm image sensor]. (David J Mathre)
Kermit the Bullfrog Near a Pond in My Backyard. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 160, 300 mm, f/8, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

One-Year Ago (24-May-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Springtime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Startrails Looking South From My Backyard in New Jersey. Composite of 400 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC. In the past I used the startrails.exe program to process the images. This time I made the composite using Scripts/Statistics Stack Mode = Maximum within Photoshop CC 2015.

Startrails Looking South From My Backyard in New Jersey. Composite of 400 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro and Photoshop CC. In the past I used Startrails.exe to process the images. This time I made the composite using Scripts/Statistics Stack Mode = Maximum within Photoshop CC 2015. (David J Mathre)
Startrails Looking South From My Backyard in New Jersey. Composite of 400 images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 14 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/2.8, 30 sec). (David J Mathre)