It has been raining a lot. Nibbles, the rabbit in my wildflower garden started eating the Italian (Crimson) clover. The Italian clover was part of the wildflower seed mixture I planted in the section previously used as the kitchen garden. I also saw a groundhog brushing its teeth with some rebar in the far backyard, a robin in the rain, and a squirrel with a nut. All of the wildlife images were taken from within the house. Later on I went outside with a macro lens to capture some flower pictures.
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)
A rabbit in my wildflower garden. It kept coming out early every morning, but had not done much damage. The wildflowers I planted were supposed to be deer resistant, so maybe didn’t taste good for the rabbit either.
Rabbit in my wildflower garden. Image taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1600, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Lone Rabbit. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/10 sec). One of the very first images that that I took with a DSLR camera. Not a very good image, but it does show that the vibration reduction (VR) helps since this was hand-held with a relatively long (1/10 sec) exposure.
Today is my ten-year anniversary of using a DSLR camera. I have made many mistakes, and learned a lot since then. In ten years I have taken ~ 1.7 MM images. I save everything, and continually review the bad images and failed compositions to become a better photographer. Part of the reason I go back and review images taken on each day of the year. Initially, I only used Nikon DSLR cameras (D200, D300 (2x), D700, D800, D810a, D2xs (2x), D3 (2x), D3s, D3x, D4, and Df). More recently I have been using smaller mirrorless cameras Nikon (N1-V1, N1-V2, and N1-V3 (2x)), Leica (X1, X2, T (2x)), and Fuji (X-T1 (2x)). Of these, all still work except for the Nikon Df (shutter sleeves buckled while in Antarctica), and one of the Fuji X-T1 (water damage while visiting Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe). Some of the cameras my brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces are using. I have also used a large collection of lenses (macro, prime, zoom, telephoto, perspective control, fish-eye).
For the initial trip across the US with the D200 camera I had the kit 18-70 mm lens and the 80-400 mm telephoto zoom lens. I didn’t know how to use the camera, and the manual wasn’t much help. Somehow, I got some great images during the trip and became hooked on photography as my new passion. I have always been the type of person that has to learn and become an expert of something new every few years. I’ve had many great mentors to guide me, and have been on many photo related trips. I’ve had cameras with me on every one of my Semester at Sea voyages, visiting over 50 countries. Now that I am retired from corporate America, I can spend my time with photography and travel. I probably am not going to buy new cameras and lenses as often – and believe that “the best camera is the one that is with you”.
Lone Rabbit. Image taken with a Nikon D200 and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/10 sec). (David J Mathre)
