Not bad… How’d you do it?
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A lot of practice. Step by step description would put you to sleep.
Or me. I don’t like to think too much about the process.
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Oh man, do I feel for you on this one! I have observed only one Emesinae so far (unconfirmed) and it was one of the most difficult shots to get ever. Unbelievable anatomy and the optical effects are just horrendous for a good tight macro. And usually in a dark place (mine was inside a hollow tree). I didn’t even know what I was looking at until I looked it up later.
But man, to get as close as you did on that background…AAAARGGGHHH!!!
I tried, but the improvement I could make was so marginal, I’m not even sure I should post it.
Aw, what the heck.
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this yellow-wattled lapwing I took from 50 m away with my phone camera:
i wonder how it got to rg
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/160230311
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i used the binocs method (putting phone camera in binocs)
also it was raining
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Thank you so much for this post – I can’t even count how many times I’ve made a bad photo, and I think to myself, “Ooof. This would be embarrassing to post…” But then I remember that the ID characteristics still show, so I just smile and say, “hey! that’s good enough!” :)
*As I was going through my observations, I started compiling a list of bad photos… but it would have just flooded this message. ;)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) from Parker County, TX, USA on May 14, 2023 at 05:29 PM by Sam Kieschnick · iNaturalist
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I have a feeling that this is the worst pic that I have uploaded to iNaturalist.
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Here I have a few more bad shots:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/166881429
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/164083861
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What’s that!?
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the tiny dot in the sky is a peregrine falcon, but I highly doubt that anyone would be able to confirm it.
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On that note: this backswimmer made it to genus and this predaceous diving beetle managed to make it to species because it was conveniently the one local species with a light stripe on the elytra.
This one is just on the right side of “bad enough I won’t bother posting it”: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/167078282
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My House Sparrow observed inside the concourse at RDU airport is the worst:
Image description: A silhouette of a bird perched on a pipe near an industrial-looking ceiling. End image description.
Actually, this observation has three pictures, all equally bad.
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Low light conditions and fast-paced situations don’t mix well!
A Coyote passed me by in a neighbourhood as the sun set. I was shocked, and a bit scared too, not great for photography! I got a shot just as it turned the corner. I wish the picture was as good as the story, but I think I was able to salvage it :)
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Don’t worry about the photos, I’m pretty sure I have worse pics than you do, like this one: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/168170311
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Oof! I feel your pain with that one. Why can’t they just fly closer!
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I’ve got clip-on lenses, so in this case I was “using” my telephoto lens.
As there were no birds flying around, I unscrewed it from my phone and guess what happened! This crested caracara passed flying just a second after that and, as I knew it would take me too long to screw it again, I had to take the shot just with my smartphone and then cropped the image.
That’s the result.
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Wow. Bird by Salvador Dali. That little sucker was fast!
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i mean… probably this one?
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I always find it strange seeing water-dwelling birds just flying out in the city, not near any water. It leaves you so unprepared, so getting a shot is a real challenge! The same thing happened to me with a Great Blue Heron, didn’t end up uploading the photo.
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