Eight-Years Ago (28-August-2011) — New Jersey

Hurricane Irene. Central New Jersey.

My Sunday morning post from eight-years ago. Today we are watching Hurricane  Dorian as it tracks toward Florida.

I spent Friday and Saturday getting prepared for Hurricane Irene. The storm intensity started increasing late Saturday night. At about 11:30 PM, I heard a crash and the lights went out. When I got up Sunday morning the wind and rain had decreased significantly. I guess this was when the eye of the hurricane was moving up the coast of New Jersey directly east. When I went out I saw that a tree had fallen next to the road and took down the power, cable, and phone lines. I tried to call in the fallen lines to PSE&G, but couldn’t get past the automated emergency reporting system. My wireless Internet connection also didn’t work. A lot of branches and tree limbs were down in the yard, but thankfully no damage to the house or vehicles. The following images are of the nearby Rock Brook and local woods. Normally at this time of the year, the brook is almost dry. The road closed sign was right in front of my driveway.

Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Road Closed. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)
Rock Brook Flooding. Hurricane Irene. Image taken with a Leica X1 camera. (David J Mathre)

Tuesday (27-August-2019) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Nature in New Jersey.

While harvesting some carrots from my Grow Tower garden several very large grasshoppers jumped out. This one is almost 2 inches long.

Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 250 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 250 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Spur-throated Grasshopper. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)

Daily Electric Energy Used (39.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (42.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Still cool outside but more clouds for a net surplus of 3.7 kWh.

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Three-Years Ago (27-August-2016) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star and jet trails plus clouds. Images taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro, and the composite generated with Photoshop CC (statistics, maximum). One problem I continue to have is moisture condensing on the lens as temperature cool over the night. Especially with wide angle lenses with lots of glass surface area. You can see how the condensation blurs things in the final image. I’ve read about adding electrical resistance thermal tape to heat the lens, but worry about damage and optical artifacts. I’ve also added a time-lapse video of the night sky show.

Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (01-50) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (01-50) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (51-100) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (51-100) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (101-150) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (101-150) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (151-200) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)
Star Trails and Clouds Looking South. Composite of 50 images (151-200) taken with a Nikon D810a camera and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/4, 120 sec). (David J Mathre)

Four-Years Ago (27-August-2015) — New Jersey

Backyard Summertime Night Sky Over New Jersey.

Star trails looking north and the waxing gibbous moon (both a composite and time-lapse video).

Startrails Looking North. Composite of 60 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro with the composite processed using Phototshop CC Statictics/Maximum. (David J Mathre)
Startrails Looking North. Composite of 60 images taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 10.5 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 100, 10.5 mm, f/4, 120 sec). Raw images processed with Capture One Pro with the composite processed using Phototshop CC Statictics/Maximum. (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Composite of 12 images taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Waxing Gibbous Moon. Composite of 12 images taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 200, 600 mm, f/11, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)

Thirteen-Years Ago (27-August-2006) — Michigan

Gone to See America 2006 Driving Tour. Day 2: Northern  Michigan.

My first images with a new Nikon D200 camera on this road trip west. Quick stop in Mackinaw State Forest, then some pictures of the Mackinac Bridge before crossing it to the Upper Peninsula. Finally a stop at Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. I have memories of crossing the Mackinac bridge soon after it opened as a small child. All of the images have been reprocessed with currently available software.

Woodpecker Tree in Mackinaw State Forest. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Woodpecker Tree in Mackinaw State Forest. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Mackinac Bridge. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Mackinac Bridge. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Mackinac Bridge. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Mackinac Bridge. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Seagull, Mackinac State Park. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Seagull, Mackinac State Park. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Miners Castle, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)
Miners Castle, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Image taken with a Nikon D200 camera and 18-75 mm kit lens. (David J Mathre)