Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.
Monarch Butterfly Being Stalked by a Praying Mantis. Today while hiking in the Sourland Mountain Preserve I had a Monarch Butterfly stay long enough to get some images. I then saw that there was a praying mantis stalking the butterfly. The praying mantis is well camouflaged. In this case the butterfly took off before it became breakfast. Last year I got some images of a praying mantis stalking and then eating a hummingbird moth. 21-august-2011.
Monarch Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/2.8, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
Summertime Nature in New Jersey: Sourland Mountain Preserve.
I went for a walk at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Lots of images of Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies and Dragonflies. Not that many wildflowers that butterflies are interested in at this time. I did see one Monarch butterfly, but it never stopped long enough to take an image. Same thing with a black swallowtail butterfly. I did see one Robber-fly, but it didn’t have a meal yet…
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 100, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2500 sec). (David J Mathre)Dragonfly. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 450, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec) (David J Mathre)
Rabbit Eating Clover in the Rain. My first day of Retirement. I’ve been working for Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey; Boulder, Colorado; and West Point, Pennsylvania for the last 27 years. I can now spend more time with my new passion of photography and travel. I took a series of images of this rabbit in the rain. I was sitting in my car in my driveway while listening to “The Race” on SiriusXM. Now that I am not commuting 3+ hours a day I can photograph the local wildlife while listening to books on satellite radio.
Rabbit Eating Clover in the Rain. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 300 mm f/2.8 VR lens (ISO 800, 300 mm, f/4, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
When the conditions are right, you can see the Milky Way in New Jersey. Two views, a 5 minute and 15 minute exposure.
Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 300 sec). (David J Mathre)Summer Night in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 16 mm f/2.8 mm Fisheye lens (ISO 400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 900 sec). (David J Mathre)
I am back in New Jersey after a short trip to San Francisco. I hate flying and this trip was bad. I spent 4 hours in the plane before taking off in Philadelphia (we did get back to the gate for a short stop to avoid the 3 hour federal regulation rules). Ultimately it took 12 hours from the time I left my office to get to the hotel in San Francisco. I hate flying, and would rather drive. For the return flight, the airline decided there were too many empty seats and substituted a smaller plane (and bumped 20+ passengers). ARRG! I just wanted to get home, and was not interested in a $400 future credit. Ultimately I got a seat on the original flight. It was a middle seat, and I had to force the armrest down to separate me from the over sized person next to me oozing into my seat. I hate flying. I hate flying. I hate flying.
