Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron Of Judgement.

Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis), taken September 28, 2024, in Georgia, US

Aside from Renia moths, these are some of the most common lepidopteran inhabitants of the leaflitter in my back woods! They're terrible to photograph because they startle when leaves crunch near them, so I always have to creep up on them really slowly. Even then, it sometimes takes several minutes for me to finally catch one! Despite their drab coloration, I still find them quite beautiful. They're perfectly made for forest floor life!

Blue-faced Meadowhawk (Sympetrum ambiguum), male, taken September 5, 2024, in Georgia, US

In terms of dragonfly season here, these guys fly really late, right about at the end. I think this was actually one of the last ones I saw last year—he was definitely the last I photographed. What a fiery way to end the season, though! This guy is gorgeous, and he posed very well for me! Sometimes I swear bugs want me to take their pictures, and who am I to say no to such a handsome guy?

Humpbacked Orbweaver (Eustala anastera), female, taken May 8, 2025, in Georgia, US

Some shots of a beautiful wild diamond... I intercepted her as she tried to web her way to the ground and placed her on a fallen tree in an attempt to get photos. Luckily for me, she curled up instead of running away! This spider is quite variable, some being brown like this and others having a coloration similar to lichen!

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), juvenile, take May 9, 2025, in Georgia, US

A little guy! I've been seeing this young fellow flying around the bird feeders for a few days and was finally able to get some good shots of him. I never see him with any parents, so I have no way of telling if he's a nest parasite or was raised by the local starlings, though the previous year the starlings raised their own babies, so I assume they did this spring as well. He's looking lively and healthy and eats on his own, so he's well on his way to becoming a strong adult!

Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica), taken September 15, 2024, in Georgia, US

Some of my favorite bee photos! I think I had my nicer lens on for these, so they turned out a bit higher quality than others. Taking pictures of bees moving frantically from flower to flower is hard enough already—add in needing to get close and it's near impossible because they run away! My more ranged lens is nice for insects like bees, butterflies, and dragonflies that are large enough to focus easily from afar and are too skittish for getting super close. These turned out pretty cute!

the ant people are the only ones on inaturalist that consistently use the "favorites" button. unfortunately the rest of us don't know their secrets so there will be like, dozens of faves on a picture of an ant and i am like why is the ant so special. teach us to see the beauty of the ant.

Magnolia Green Jumping Spider (Lyssomanes viridis), juvenile male, taken February 7, 2025, in Georgia, US

This streak of warmer weather has reawoken the magnolia greens, and I am very happy to see them again! I saw two individuals this day, both juvenile males. This one was very nice about jumping at the camera, while the first one proceeded to climb up my phone, onto my arm, and into my hoodie sleeve. I took off and inverted my hoodie, but I never found him so I suppose he dropped to the ground somewhere. His tricks worked for once!

THANK YOU!!! I am a total noob at cameras, so this is all really really helpful!! I haven't adjusted most of my settings (other than the obvious, like sound and timezone and other basic stuff) other than switching my focus to manual when using the raynox like you suggested—definitely a good tip, I can guess what the camera does when it's on auto lol.

I am certainly feeling the learning curve right now, but I find the increased challenge really rewarding. It also forces me to slow down and spend more time on each individual I photograph, which makes the whole process feel more personal. You said the 70-300mm was wonky when you tried it, but I'm actually enjoying it a lot lol. It allows me to tailor the magnification for each subject I photograph depending on size and produces a higher quality image than my 18-55. After a certain point (~100 or 135mm I think?) flash is inviable with it, though, because the lens starts interfering and causing a shadow, so I have to stick to sunny areas with it if I want to go up to 200mm. I'll have to play around with flash more on both lenses since I think most of the clarity issues I'm having with the 18-55 can be fixed with it, and flash usually makes everything better anyways.

Again I really appreciate these tips!! I'll have to try them out when I go out tomorrow, especially playing with the flash and aperture settings, and see how that changes things!

i am photographing hymenopterans that are smaller and more indistinguishable than you could possibly imagine

Jumping Spider (Admestina wheeleri), male, taken July 17, 2024, in New Hampshire, US

His task? Uncertain, but he's doing something! This genus nests in crevices in tree bark, but I'm not sure if he's trying to create a nest, deposit sperm, or a secret third task.

The picture was taken after the video while I followed him on his journey around this tree for at least 10 minutes before I decided he wasn't of interest any more. He wandered away from where he made this possible nest in a seemingly random direction, kind of just meandering along the tree, and it has me wondering if he decided the spot he chose wasn't suitable for a nest. Regardless, this genus is known to be quite illusive, so I wanted to document the behavior in a video in case it was of interest. Who knows!

Whitman's Jumping Spider (Phidippus whitmani), female, taken March 28, 2025, in Georgia, US

A jumping spider lifer for me! I initially caught a glimpse of her while trying to photograph a bee and thought she was a mutillid. That was until she peeked back out of the leaves to watch what I was doing! She was an excellent model, turning in all directions and moving slowly and calmly so I could get the best photos I could. It's almost like she knew what was happening!