Five-Years Ago (19-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 2: Kailua Kona.

One of the first pictures I took while attending a workshop with Thom Hogan in Hawaii five-years ago was this small yellow bird in a palm tree. The workshop group was sitting outside at the hotel getting an orientation for the next few days. Ultimately, I was able to identify this bird as a Saffron Finch — which turns out not to be native to Hawaii.

Saffron Finch in a Palm Tree. Kona, Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/640 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Saffron Finch in a Palm Tree. Kona, Hawaii. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/640 sec). (David J. Mathre)

 

Sunday (18-November-2012) — New Jersey

Backyard Night Sky in New Jersey: Star Trails and Leonid Meteor Trails.

While processing through the images from the other night, I found three (maybe four) Leonid meteor trails in a star trail composite of 35 one minute exposures. The camera was facing south from my deck, and the sky was just starting to get light.

The Drobo disk array upgrade and data backups are finally complete (after almost three weeks). I can now start processing more images from my Fall 2012 Semester at Sea voyage, and the three-week trip to New Mexico and west Texas (including a week with the ANPAT 12 trip).

Late Fall Night Star Trails and Leonid Meteor Trails over New Jersey. Composite of 35 Images taken with a Nikon D800 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/2.8, 1 min). (David J. Mathre)
Late Fall Night Star Trails and Leonid Meteor Trails over New Jersey. Composite of 35 Images taken with a Nikon D800 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 16 mm, f/2.8, 1 min). (David J. Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (17-November-2007) — Colorado

Colorado Autumn Road Trip: Big Horn Ram Huddle.

I saw several Big Horn Rams along Colorado 14 while driving back to Boulder from Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Soon after I stopped and started taking pictures with a big lens, several other vehicles also stopped. Hard to believe, but one day later I was in Hawaii attending a workshop run by Thom Hogan.

Big Horn Ram Huddle. Along Colorado 14 near Sheridan in Roosevelt National Forest. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs and 200-400 mm lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)
Big Horn Ram Huddle. Along Colorado 14 near Sheridan in Roosevelt National Forest. Image taken with a Nikon D2xs camera and 200-400 mm lens (ISO 100, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec). (David J Mathre)

 

Thursday (15-November-2012) — New Jersey

Indoor Autumn Nature in New Jersey: House Pet Returns.

Scutigera Coleoptrata (House Centipede) β€” Not a Silverfish, one of my creepy crawly house pets appeared again this afternoon. Still waiting on the Drobo upgrade to complete, so spent some time taking macro images β€” until it got tired of the flash and went away.

Scutigera Coleoptrata (House Centipede) -- Not a Silverfish. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/22, 1/250 sec) with SB-700 Flash. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, and Photoshop CS6. (David J Mathre)
Scutigera Coleoptrata (House Centipede) — Not a Silverfish. Image taken with a Nikon D3 and 105 mm f/2.8 VR Macro (ISO 200, 105 mm, f/22, 1/250 sec) with SB-700 Flash. Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 6, and Photoshop CS6. (David J Mathre)

Sunday (11-November-2012) — New Jersey

Indoor Fall Nature in New Jersey: Moth.

As I was going out to try to do some night sky photography, this large brown moth flew into the house. After getting the camera on the deck going, I took the opportunity to use one of my macro lenses that was along on both of my previous trips, but never used. I also used a SB-910 flash that was along and not used — at least the batteries were still charged. This was all done hand-held while sitting on a ladder to get close. Auto-focus with the D4 even with low light and at f/29 was good.

Moth. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/29, 1/250 sec) with SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre)
Moth. Image taken with a Nikon D4 and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (ISO 100, 105 mm, f/29, 1/250 sec) with SB-910 flash. (David J Mathre)