Sunday (18-September-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Late Summer Nighttime Sky in New Jersey.

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, 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)
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.

Three-Years Ago (09-September-2008) — New Jersey

Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Big Spider. I saw this “what I consider a giant” spider above my front door. I went in the back door and got a Nikon D3 camera with a 200 mm lens (I didn’t want to get too close) and a SB-900 flash. It was not as big as a tarantula, but pretty close. I’ve never seen a spider this big in New Jersey before. I don’t know what type of spider it is, but I have not seen one like it since then.

Big Spider Above My Front Door. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 220, 200 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J. Mathre)
Big Spider Above My Front Door. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 200 mm f/4 macro lens (ISO 220, 200 mm, f/16, 1/60 sec) and SB-900 flash. (David J. Mathre)

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Monday (05-September-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

This tree fungus was not staying still long enough to keep in focus. I used a feature in Capture One Pro where I selected a color, and then reduced the saturation for the inverse colors (thus B&W + one color). We will see if the Blob is blocking my driveway tomorrow morning.

The Blob Taking Over New Jersey. Tree Fungus. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens. Raw Image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
The Blob Taking Over New Jersey. Tree Fungus. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens. Raw Image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Friday (02-September-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Wildlife in New Jersey.

Some images of a white moth feeding on wildflowers and a young catbird checking out the wild grapes.

White Moth. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Moth. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Moth. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Moth. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Moth. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Moth. Summer in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Young Grey Catbird with Wild Grapes. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR ens (ISO 560, 300 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Young Grey Catbird with Wild Grapes. Summer Nature in New Jersey. Image taken with a Nikon D700 and 28-300 mm VR ens (ISO 560, 300 mm, f/8, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, Nik Define 2, and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (30-August-2011) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

Fawn Checking Out a Fallen Tree Branch Post Hurricane Irene.

Doe Checking out a Downed Limb After Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 500 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)
Doe Checking out a Downed Limb After Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Nikon D3 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 500 mm, f/4, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6 and Photoshop CS5. (David J Mathre)