outdoor photography

Lavinia sp. Orbweaver A couple weeks ago I visited the wildlife drive at Lake Apopka. I decided to use my macro lens and see if I could go my whole time just photographing insects and spiders. I made it all the way until the sod fields near the end of the drive, when I had to put my 400 mm lens back on. Black and Yellow Argiope I saw two species of spiders, a Black and Yellow Argiope and a Larinia species orbweaver. These were probably the most challenging to photograph. The Lavinia sp. was pretty small, and it had become quite windy, so just getting a sharp photo was a bit of a challenge. I photographed two odes, a Rambur's Forktail and an Eastern Amberwing. Rambur's Forktail Eastern Amberwing I also had some fun photos of butterflies and moths, in particular, a Southern Skipperling, a Fiery Skipper, and a Yellow-collared Scape Moth. The scape moth was probably the most fun find of the morning for me. Yellow-collared Scape Moth Fiery Skipper ...

Yellow-throated Warbler A friend of mine found a Hooded Warbler and a Cerulean Warbler at Central Winds yesterday.  Of course, I wasn't there.  I think that all the Hooded Warblers got together and decided to stay away from me whenever I'm in Seminole County--I can't seem to get that one on my Seminole County list.  So of course I trotted off this morning to see if I could find anything there.  I found neither of my target warblers (Hooded and Blue-winged), but I did find 10 others: Ovenbird (at least 7), Northern Waterthrusth, Worm-eating, Northern Parula (at least 20), Black and White, American Redstart, Yellow, Prothonotary (2), Yellow-throated, and Prairie.  It was also fun to find a Limpkin and hear an Eastern Wood-Pewee. Limpkin I also found a beautiful Black and Yellow Argiope spider.  Central Winds is crawling with Golden-silk Orbweavers, and they're both beautiful and gigantic.  These argiopes are only slightly smaller, but I think ...

Golden-silk Orbweaver Since moving to Florida, I've had the opportunity to see some pretty enormous spiders.  Golden-silk Orbweavers and Black and Yellow Argiopes are pretty large, and they're spectacular-looking as well.  Black and Yellow Argiope Of course, not all our spiders are huge.  But whenever I have the chance to get close enough to them for photographs, I'm always struck by the beauty of these creatures. I know spiders freak some people out, but when you have the chance to look at them carefully, they really are a wonder to behold. Red-femured Spotted Orbweaver Crablike Spiny Orbweaver Leucauge Argyra

Black and Yellow Argiope I apologize to those of you who get freaked out by spiders, but I think they're pretty wonderful. I've been wanting to photograph this species for a while. I've seen them before, but I've never been able to photograph them until this morning at Central Winds Park. I hope this one sticks around so I can return with my macro lens and diffuser.  With my 400mm lens I had to stay over 10 ft away and photograph her in harsh lighting. These spiders are pretty large (well, females like this one are), and they're quite stunning when you find one. They go by many common names, including Black and yellow Orbweaver and Golden Orbweaver, but the scientific name for the species is Argiope aurantia . Sometimes spiders of this genus are called writing spiders because of the zig zag pattern in the center of the web.  Despite their large size, they are pretty harmless. Black and Yellow Argiope Black and Yellow Argiope