Despite earning a degree in Biology at Furman University (field ecology), I didn't see a viable path to make a living as a scientist. However, I've always had a keen interest in the natural world, particularly taxonomy. How is this dragonfly species similar to and different from that dragonfly? What are the best field spotting marks to distinguish between the various warblers, finches or thistles?

These interests also fueled my passion for photography; first with film then finally moving into serious digital photography (mostly nature and wildlife, landscape and rail subjects). I always want to know what I shot and where I shot it and like to tag my images accordingly. I wasn't satisfied merely to tag an image as a 'frog', a 'damselfly' or a 'hawk'.

There are lots of online resources and some paper field guides to help narrow down the search for something more species specific (eBird, various Facebook groups, BugGuide, HerpMapper, etc.) Then somehow I discovered iNaturalist which isn't limited to a particular taxon. What a terrific resource! Selfishly, it has helped me tag my images more accurately, but beyond that, I now have additional motivation to contribute to 'citizen science' and know there's some potential my observations will be useful to 'real scientists' conducting useful research.

My favorite taxons to photograph are birds, herps, spiders, Odonata and Lepidoptera. INaturalist has opened my eyes to many more interesting taxons to seek out and shoot like Robber and Hover Flies, Bees and Wasps and plants of all kinds. God's creation is truly beautiful and amazing!

I'm not much of an expert on many taxons, so I post many more observations than I make IDs. Feel free to question any of my observations or IDs. Finally, a huge thank you to the many contributors who not only post IDs but help me learn what to look for and have helped me take better and more useful photos.

Other Links:

• What's In My Bag
• Wildlife Photos

taxa favoritos

View All