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by Peter Cross

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted September 8, 201359 views3 comments
I was in the backyard this afternoon trying to photograph bees; without much success. There were, however, a lot of skippers working the plants so I started taking photos of them. I noticed one which was hanging vertically by it's tail and wondered why. I really couldn't see why so I took a few photos and soon went back in the house to see what I had. The first photo of the skipper looked okay until I noticed a couple of white lines hanging down. Closer inspection revealed they were the legs of a crab spider: which explained the odd position of the BF. So, out I went to take a few more. Knowing what I was dealing with, I got in a better position to shoot and came up with a series along this line which I thought were worthy enough to post one. So here it is. Cropped about 50% to rid it of negative space and slightly sharpened. Would appreciate comments and critiques as well as suggestions for making this better.

Tech Info

Canon EOS 60D with EF-28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS at 130mm and 36mm ext tube
1/40th @ f/13 and ISO 800
handheld

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on September 8, 2013 at 8:41 PM
First, Peter, congrats on getting a dynamic image of this exciting insect behavior. Looks like a very fresh kill by the crab spider. I also like the purple flowers and the way they give a pop of color to the image. I'd pefer a bg that was cleaner (less busy), but you probably had little control over the tight bg, and I assume that f13 was needed to get both the skipper and the spider in focus, which they are. My only suggestions would be to slightly crop the top to eliminate the cut off leaf, and to slightly darken the URC. You could also clone out the light oof stem running vertically from the skipper's head to the bottom of the frame. :wavey:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on September 9, 2013 at 8:13 AM
Very well captured all round, Peter. A fascinating ( if slightly gruesome ! ) scene. I can't think of very much re any improvements ( Scott has already made some good suggestions ) - the light is so good and the comp works well for me. Maybe just that little crop off the top ?
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on September 9, 2013 at 10:14 AM
These little crab spiders catch some large butterflies. I've seen them with cabbage whites and sulphers. You've got a fine look at this one and the comp. in your crop works well. Your combo of zoom and ET give an added magnification of about 30% (36mm/130mm), which I think you could duplicate with a wider setting on your zoom and no ET. You would be working significantly closer to the insects. Crab spiders do notice a lens getting in close, but don't run away, so it might be worth going back again with this lens combo and trying to get closer so you don't have to crop as severely.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments