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 ...

Rambur's Forktail This morning I decided to head out to Marl Bed Flats to see what birds and bugs I might find. I was pleased to see that the flats aren't nearly as dry as they were the last time I visited. There was standing water near the slough, and that was encouraging to me. I didn't see a lot of birds, but there were bugs everywhere. I saw several species of dragonflies and damselflies. The biggest treat was seeing two mating Rambur's Forktails. They didn't mind me getting close with my camera, so I got my first decent photos of a mated pair. Blue Dasher Blue Dasher Little Blue Dragonlet Eastern Amberwing I only photographed three butterflies: Little Yellow, Southern Skipperling, and Common/White Checkered Skipper. Little Yellow Little Yellow Southern Skipperling It was also fun to find a different species of bee fly (I think  Poecilanthrax lucifer )  and a new species of assassin bug (I think  Acanthocephala termin...

Southern Skipperling On April 17th, I visited Marl Bed Flats, and I did something I haven't done in years. I took my 180 mm macro lens and not my 400 mm telephoto lens. My bet was that I wouldn't see any birds that needed photographing but I would see bugs that needed photographing. Thankfully, I was right. I walked out to Lake Jesup looking for birds, and walked back looking for bugs. There were lots of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies that took a good deal of my attention. I got my first presentable photos of a Southern Skipperling and my first ever photos of a Big Bluet. Here are the dragonflies and damselflies I'd seen. Rambur's Forktail Big Bluet Four-spotted Pennant Eastern Amberwing Here are some more of the butterflies I saw.  Including the Southern Skipperling above, I only saw three species, though there were several of each, especially Little Yellows. Fiery Skipper Little Yellow