Red Eft at Wildcat Ridge

Red Eft
Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area
Morris County NJ
April 2023

Call them what you like: Efts, Newts, or Salamanders These charismatic amphibians make me grateful for the preserved open spaces we do have in North Jersey.

Sidenote: if you do take the time to get outside to observe reptiles and amphibians do not be selfish and move them or take them home. Nobody wants to be a prisoner.

Banded Pennant at Double Trouble State Park

Banded Pennant
Double Trouble State Park
Ocean County NJ
July 2021

Learn more about the Banded Pennant – http://www.dragonfliesnva.com/My%20Documents/KevinPDF/pdf/identify/species/BandedPennant-FINAL.pdf

Squash Bee Image For Penn State Agricultural

The History of Penn State's Nittany Lion Logo

Great news, my image of a Squash Bee (taken 2014 in Lafayette, Sussex County NJ) has been selected for inclusion in a Penn State Agricultural brochure on pollination.

It is important to accurately label and identify your nature photography subjects because you never know who is looking! My image was found on my old Flickr site.

Northern Cricket Frog at Greendell Marsh Ecological Preserve

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Northern Cricket Frog at Greendell Marsh Ecological Preserve
 
Frelinghuysen Twp, New Jersey
 
With the recent warm weather the cricket frogs are out at full force in the puddles, ponds, and wetlands.
 
Visit Friends of Greendell Marsh Ecological Preserve on Facebook for more information on the preserve
Species info on Northern Cricket Frog – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_cricket_frog

Blue-faced Meadowhawk in NJ

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Blue-faced Meadowhawk
 
Cox Hall Creek WMA, Cape May County NJ
September 2014
 
 
Visit Cox Hall Creek (now part of Cape Island WMA) https://ebird.org/hotspot/L350765?yr=cur&m=&rank=mrec

Elfin Skimmer dragonfly

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Elfin Skimmer
 
Dover Forge, Ocean County NJ
 
The smallest dragonfly found in NJ and not the easiest to photograph either.
 

Northern Gray Tree Frog

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Northern Gray Tree Frog
 
Jonathan’s Woods, Morris County NJ
 
This Tree Frog was silent and mostly motionless so it was dumb luck that I noticed it.
 
Tamron SP 180mm macro lens + Canon M50

Luna Moth @ Allamuchy Mountain

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Luna Moth
 
Allamuchy Mountain State Park in Stanhope NJ
 
This moth was hard to notice close to the understory of the forest floor.
 
More info on Luna Moths – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_moth

Tamron 18-400mm Full Resolution Butterfly

I took this digital photograph of an Painted Lady butterfly recently in Chester New Jersey.  Click on the picture to download or view the high resolution original.  Zoom in to view the sharpness from the new Tamron 18-400mm ultra-telephoto all-in-one lens.

Tamron 18-400mm Sharpness

Tamron 18-400mm Macro Sample Image of an Painted Lady Butterfly. Straight Out Of Camera.

The Tamron 18-400mm F/3.5-6.3 DI-II VC HLD all-in-one lens was handheld in conjunction with the Canon SL2 Digital Rebel.  I am extremely impressed by the fine detail resolved in this SOOC (straight out of camera) shot.  The tiny hairs by the butterfly eyes are very well defined.  I also like the pleasing bokeh of background flowers.

100% crop from above SOOC photograph

Tamron 18-400mm macro photography

Tamron 18-400mm VC 100% Crop SOOC. Handheld at 400mm F/9 on Canon SL2. Photo by Dave Blinder

Exposure settings:

Tamron 18-400mm VC @ 400mm, Autofocus On, Vibration Compensation On

Canon SL2 in Aperture Priority Mode +2/3 exposure, AI Servo Focus

1/800 F9 ISO 800

 

Purchase the new Tamron 18-400mm from Amazon using my affiliate links  (help support my blog)

Tamron 18-400mm for Canon – http://amzn.to/2xvjzbX

Tamron 18-400mm for Nikon – http://amzn.to/2xPqXj9

Canon EOS Rebel SL2 Digital SLR Camera Body Only – http://amzn.to/2xBsFU8

 

Do you have any questions about the lens, camera, or photograph?  Any more sample images you’d like to see?  Let me know.

New Jersey Nature Photography: Water Falling on Leaf #1

Yesterday, while out doing local nature photography in Morris County, New Jersey, I decided to pair my Tamron 14-150mm Di III All-In-One lens with a set of Meike MK-P-AF3B extension tubes to my Olympus PEN EPL3 micro four thirds camera.  The purpose of the extension tubes was to allow the lens to focus closer than normal.  The main drawback of tubes is always the loss of infinity focus.

Below is my favorite shot from yesterday morning, and an uncropped one.  It always becomes a visual exploration for me to photographically capture little segments of nature, especially with moving elements like water.  The weathered Oak Leaf was a great secondary element, located just under the trickles of water.  The trickles were falling off a mossy rock in a slight bend in the stream.  Post-processing on the photo included a slight creative white balance shift, and also some reintroduction of contrast to the RAW file.

NJ Nature Art

A closeup photo of three small trails of water descending around an old Oak Leaf in #NewJersey. Picture taken with the #Tamron 14-150mm All-In-One Lens, Meike AF extension tubes for close focus, and the #Olympus PEN E-PL3 micro four thirds camera.

Exposure settings: 1s F/9 ISO 200, 132mm

Equipment used:
Tamron 14-150mm Di III All-In-One lens

Zeikos 52mm circular polarizing filter

Meike MK-P-AF3B extension tubes

Olympus PEN EPL3 m43 camera

Manfrotto 488RC2 ballhead

Benro carbon fiber tripod

For a quick look at the camera and lens setup, view on my Instagram account – http://instagram.com/p/wl108iKs_J/