Sparrow - David Mathre Photography

Ten-Years Ago (18-March-2007) — New Jersey

Late Winter Backyard Wildlife in New Jersey.

Three LBJ’s (litte-brown jobs) in my backyard on a cold late-winter day. Two of the birds are white-throated sparrows. The other one, I am not sure about its ID.

White-throated sparrow singing in the vines. Late winter backyard wildlife in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/12, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Sparrow hiding in the bushes. Late winter backyard wildlife in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/12, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Icicles on the vines. Late winter backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/9.5, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Nine-Years Ago (16-March-2008) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Winter Nature in New Jersey.

Images from a walkabout in my backyard after a morning rain shower. The deer look like it has been a long winter. These are the birds that spent the winter.

Three scrawny does. Late winter backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Three scrawny does. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Female northern cardinal in the vines after a morning rain. Late winter backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Female northern cardinal in the vines after a morning rain. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Male northern cardinal in the vines after a morning rain. Late winter backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre) — Male northern cardinal in the vines after a morning rain. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)

White-throated sparrow in the vines after a morning rain. Late winter backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 500, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — White-throated sparrow in the vines after a morning rain. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 500, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Water droplets on a vine after a morning rain. Late winter backyard nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre) — Water droplets on a vine after a morning rain. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Monday (24-December-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Nature in New Jersey: Small Winter Birds on Christmas Eve.

I attached a 600 mm f/4 VR lens to the Nikon 1 V2 camera using the FT1 adapter. This was then set up on a tripod with a Gimble head on my back deck. Because of the small size of the digital sensor on the N1V2, this combination has a field of view (FOV) equivalent to a 1620 mm lens on a full size (35 mm) digital sensor. I wanted to see what type of images I could get, especially of small birds. There is more noise with the small sensor (and I think more noise with the N1V2 than the N1V1).

Dark-eyed "Slate-colored" Junco. Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 280, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre) — Dark-eyed “Slate-colored” Junco. Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 280, 600 mm, f/4, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

White-throated Sparrow. Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 160, 600 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

White-throated Sparrow. Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 720, 600 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)

Downy Wookpecker. Backyard Winter Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V2 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 160, 600 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (21-December-2006) — New Jersey

Winter Solstice: Birds in the Backyard.

I caught this white-throated sparrow eating a red berry in my backyard. The Nikon 80-400 mm VR lens is probably my most used lens. It is light enough to be hand held, and gives the reach to get images of small birds.

alt_title. (David J Mathre) — White-throated sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thursday (21-July-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

The heat continues, the fireflies are mostly gone and the cicadas are making noise. I really want to find and photograph the cicadas. I hear them, but have yet to find one. While sitting out on the deck I did get a chance to photograph what I believe is a chipping sparrow. Thom Hogan (and birders) would call it a LBJ (little brown job) — but I need the practice focusing and getting a sharp image with a big telephoto lens as part of my quest to get to 10,000 hours.

Chipping Sparrow. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 600 mm, f/4, 1/50 sec) on a tripod, VR-ON, Mirror-UP. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre) — Chipping Sparrow. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3x and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 400, 600 mm, f/4, 1/50 sec) on a tripod, VR-ON, Mirror-UP. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5.