Green orb-weaver (?) with prey

Taken in pretty deep shade. I'd have liked more DOF but was too incompetent to achieve it... I've kept it a little dark as that gave most detail on the hairy green abdomen. The ISO is up at 800 to try to limit the amount of flash needed but it may not have been necessary and it certainly generated more noise.

30D, Sigma 150, ISO800, 1/200th sec, f9.0, 430EX with diffuser mounted on hot shoe, tripod and cable release, about 30% cropped out.

Any comments welcome.

Thanks

Tim

I wouldn't know where to start, with this subject Tim, but it looks like a decent result to my eye!!



Alan

Spider shots like this are a real challenge given the obviously shallow DOF. A smaller aperture would have helped a bit but this is a pretty good job in my opinion. The colours are very nice.

Matt

Thanks Matt and Alan. Lots more practice needed.

Hi Tim,

It is a good shot... I think it would be better to back off a touch, it is great to fill the frame with these small subjects but DoF will always let you down... you can only stop down a certain amount and on a 30D you are looking at around f11(ish) before diffraction rears its ugly head. Its all a matter of balancing all the variables....

Thanks for the ideas Phil.

Hi Tim,

Great shot! Very interesting subject!