I decided I've been spending too much time with my Sigma 150-500mm lens, and decided to instead of shooting distant subjects, to return to my trusty 100mm macro, and get in close to something. This crocus popped up in the middle of our yard this weekend, and the bright sunshine when I got home from work just came together for a nice reminder that spring is actually here!

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/1250 sec at f/2.8. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to keep your eyes open for these nice little signs of spring all around you!

- Bill

It's been cold recently....

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/160 sec at f/11. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in eTTL mode. Image Stabilization on. ISO 160. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

I believe that this confirms that ice spiders exist.

- Bill

Ok - a couple more angles of that pseudoscorpion...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/200 sec at f/16. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

Believe it or not, this thing is real...

Anya found this on one of our walls, and a quick google search later, turned up that it is called a pseudoscorpion. Like it's namesake, it is in the arachnid family, but obviously is missing the stinger. It is very small, only a few millimeters long. I have a few more shots, but for now I have an episode of Sherlock to watch.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/200 sec at f/16. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Stay tuned.

- Bill

Normally I wouldn't expect to be photographing spiders this late in the year, but during the demo work on our bathroom, I spotted this guy (ok - it really wasn't all that hard as he was fairly large and ended up in the tub!). Anya grabbed me one of my trapping containers and I plum forgot about him until yesterday when my mom mentioned there hadn't been any new photos up recently (so yeah - these spider photos are all my mom's fault! ;) hah!).

Anyway, there is something about "normal" spiders that just seem to make them so much harder to photograph. Perhaps it is their different stances (and this one had a fairly aggressive stance) or their longer legs that cause those shadows - especially around their body. Perhaps it is that they tend to cover more area and thus make it harder to get the shot lit and enough depth of field. Perhaps it is just that they don't have that "playful" look that jumping spiders seem to have. Whatever it is, I always struggle with them, and I usually end up throwing out most - if not all - of the attempts.

This one sat fairly still for me, and I was able to fire off about a dozen to fifteen shots, keeping nine - which seems to be pretty good results. Here is a sampling of the best...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/250 sec at f/16. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

- Bill

OK - let's round out the 10 for 10 spider posts with some more shots of that ant-mimic jumping spider...

- Bill

So I've decided that I might as well go for 10 in a row and have the entire front page be spider posts... This is number 9, so we'll have one more, and then I have a treat for you.

Today's spider photo came out of the camera just like this. I managed to catch this little jumping spider in this nice pose on a pure white background. I really like the composition here, and I think the shadow positioning just makes it perfect.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/250 sec at f/11. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Obviously, stop back tomorrow (as long as I can find a few minutes to post it) for one more spider, and then we'll try something different.

- Bill

Ok - been busy, haven't had much time for photography or blog posting, but I found another ant-mimic jumping spider last week, so I couldn't pass up that opportunity...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/250 sec at f/11. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

I have more to share, and hopefully I'll be able to find the time to do so.

- Bill

Alright, I will admit - this is a creepy looking spider. This is the first time I've seen a spider like this, but it really is an interesting one. I've never seen a spider sit in this posture with its back legs bent in such a way.

As you should have surmised by now, it is a Tmarus angulatus (sorry, there isn't a common name for this one), and it is in the crab spider family. Apparently these tend to rest on branches of plants and trees (instead of flowers like some crab spiders) and use the shape of the abdomen to look like a new bud growing out of the branch. Then they pounce on their prey with lighting quick speed, holding on to them with those long front legs.

It is amazing just how many types of spiders there are, and how they've adapted to so many niche environments.

Creepy or not, they are really fascinating.

- Bill

Ok - been a while since I've done one of these... here's a nice assortment of the jumping spiders I've been shooting so far this year...

Good stuff.

- Bill