I love this time of year as slowly but surely the insects and spiders start to appear in the garden. Here's a small Jumping Spider, one of my favourite macro subjects.
Canon 30D with MP-E 65 macro lens.
f9, 1/160, ISO 100, diffused Speedlight on side bracket, taken around 4x magnification.
thanks Alan. It can be very difficult getting them to pause for a moment. Basically, it would be near impossible to photograph these using a tripod as you wouldn't be able to follow them around quickly enough while at the same time keeping the eyes in focus (with DOF < 1mm). So all of my MPE-65 shots are taken handheld (and resting on the ground in this case) and lit entirely by flash to remove camera shake. The only other trick is to get in front of the spider so that it faces you and then, every now and again, it will pause for a second to look at you (before scuttling off in a different direction)
thanks Phil. I did crop this one slightly to give it a bit more impact for the web but I can see that some would prefer a bit more space around it.
Matt
Posted by Brett Lewis on March 23, 2009 at 8:12 AM
I like it Matt. Good work. A tad more room to get all the legs in would have been good, but fine detail for such a small critter. Our resident 'Boris', house spider has been making an appearance over the last week or so and as you say, everything seems to be waking up.
I have something in common with this little fellow, and thats he has a lot more hair below the eyes than above just like me.
But not for long I've just been told to get a shave.
Posted by Major Gilbert on March 23, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Great shot Matt bit tight as mentioned but sharp where it matters.
How many have you taken from the back when you thought it was the front?
Just my sense of humour.
Discussion
10 repliesCanon 30D with MP-E 65 macro lens.
f9, 1/160, ISO 100, diffused Speedlight on side bracket, taken around 4x magnification.
A larger version is available HERE.
All C+C welcomed.
Matt
Those eyes are awesome, with very nice detail.
When i tried to photograph one of these i couldn't make the chap stay still
Matt
Matt
Kind regards,
Brett
Greg
Love those eyes there just something else.
I have something in common with this little fellow, and thats he has a lot more hair below the eyes than above just like me.
But not for long I've just been told
How many have you taken from the back when you thought it was the front?
Just my sense of humour.
Major.