"Best" photos you've uploaded on iNat

As I’ve already uploaded “What’s the worst photo you uploaded to iNat?”, now I’m interested in the photos that you think are “the best” from the ones you’ve uploaded so far.
To start, I’ve got a few macro shots that I find interesting, such as this one, this one, or this one. I think they look pretty nice, considering the macro lens and cellphone that I’ve got.
I’d like to see yours now! :grinning: :grinning: :grinning:

20 Likes

So many to choose from! Like this first bee record https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/161821375 or this first bee record https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/133168962, but I’ll go with a wasp https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/118120321

Edited to add this bee (honorable mention): https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/155468725

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A very nice close-up :heart_eyes:

1 Like

Probably this https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184020872

My flash diffuser came today and I got this image while testing it out. I strongly recommend one for anyone who shoots macro, besides creating more diffuse lighting it helps direct light under the lens, eliminating lens shadow so I can zoom in closer and use the full 3.2:1 macro capability of my setup even when it is not bright out. And the one I got is only $9

I don’t have an aftermarket flash, I just use the diffuser to get rid of the pitch black lens shadow and crank the ISO up to 1600 because it is still kind of dark under there (especially since I stop the aperture down to f16 to get some depth of field when using maximum zoom)
I then denoise and sharpen in apple photos to fix the grain from the high ISO and the diffraction from the small aperture, and I find this works really well

22 Likes

That’s a nice shot!, those are small and usually move around!

I think my favourite picture I’ve posted is this chestnut backed chickadee.


I also love this cedar waxwing picture, this ruddy turnstone, these black oystercatchers and this bushtit.

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I like how this one turned out. I was wanting a good lotus photo for some time.

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I’ve been trying to perfect my macro technique which involves bringing flowers inside and focus stacking them against a black background, and I recently finished processing some shots of this very cool Ericameria discoidea from the alpine zone of the Wasatch mountains which I think may be my best one yet. I really like how you can see all of the glandular hairs that it’s covered in in perfect focus (really nice texture on this plant), and I like photographing Composites in this way in general because you can see each of the individual florets packed within that involucre.

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Love the Ruddy jumping lol

1 Like

My favourite I could think of was this butterfly.


The colours and scenery look really cool together. The observation also have some similarly pretty pictures of different composition.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/145950083
Butterflies are great because they themselves are very photogenic, and they’re often amongst other beauttiful flowers and plants to complement themselves. You just have to sneak up on them first!!

22 Likes

As I came from an “aesthetical photography angle” to iNat, I like to think that most of my observations I uploaded from before joining in 2019 are not too shabby. Since I joined I slowly started to become more comfortable with showing not (in my eye) perfect pictures and snapshots and they started to take over a bit.
In the past 2 years, since I live in Bogotá, only few of my photos meet my former standart - that is because my focus for photography has changed since I am on iNat, but also because I just have waaaay fewer chances to take my time while photographing.
As Colombia is much less safe then other countries I lived in, I cannot just go out with my DSLR anytime and only got the chance to photograph on guided hikes (need to keep up with the others) or when we are travelling a bit (try not to bore my partner too much ;-)).

I do like pictures most that are not only well executed but also tell you something about the organism observed… maybe in the context of it´s habitat or showing an interesting behaviour…

My photo most people favourited the most here and actually also one of my all time favourites is this one

A personal favourite that probably only makes the most sense to myself (some female Stegodyphus dumicola spiders trying to fend of a parasitoid wasp from their nest - one of their biggest enemies besides ants)

and this one I just always liked for composition and how the colours of the spider are reflected back in it´s surrounding

If I only consider most recent ones (this year), it is probably this flower that impressed me enough to try and take a nice picture after a long time… turned ou to be a not too commonly IDed species here on iNat with only 6 observations so far (Gonolobus xanthotrichus)

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This is one of my favorites - White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata) - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/136955570

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There’s not a single favorite I have but here’s a few:

This Black-tailed Jackrabbit was giving me a good view


This flower gives a cool whimsical look


This jumping spiders was helping me keep my house pest free



Honestly, I enjoy the landscape a lot more. I can go on forever posting pictures of landscape

21 Likes

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/165909376

This Codylostylus comatus male. Normally these flies are very timid and easy to startle, but this one was relatively calm and allowed me to photograph it for several minutes.

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here are my personal favorites:

mallard

purple martin (and house sparrow)

peanut the robin

bald eagle & osprey

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I am very happy with this picture of a ladybird larva:

It just feels pleasant, especially for a picture made with a phone.

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Some truly stunning photos! @Ajott that spider on a leaf is absolutely gorgeous, I tend to want to fill the frame or crop very close and this picture is a reminder that sometimes you really shouldn’t.

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Probably my all-time favourite, from the poses and interaction to the way the weird plunging angle turned the water into a somewhat surreal background.

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I’m glad those shots turned out ok (after noise reduction), because them coming to see what I was doing was kind of a magical moment and I was afraid I wouldn’t do it justice.

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This one has the drama and intensity befitting the majestic-and-not-at-all-goofy-I-swear Fulica atra.

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Finally, I had to include some grebes, and any interaction between the juveniles and their parents always makes my heart melt.

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Where did you get the flash diffuser, & what brand is it?? I’ve been looking at ring lights (too expensive) and how-to’s on building a flash diffuser (never was any good at spatial reasoning), and would love a way to get rid of lens shadow.

2 Likes

I’m loving the different styles of ‘best’ photos!

Here’s two of my favorites: I take documentation photos, but when you take enough, you’re bound to have a couple turn out looking really nice.
P1140910

And this would be good for Halloween:

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I really like this one in particular: http://www.inaturalist.org/observations/177884448
I was very lucky to capture this moment so clearly! I saw the bird flying from the corner of my eye and immediately pointed my camera toward it.

9 Likes