Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/250 sec at f/8. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100.

- Bill

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/260 sec at f/16. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 160.

More to come later...

- Bill

Just stopping by to share an assortment of that jumping spider I shot on a blue background...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/160 sec at f/16. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

Another trillium, and again with the glycerine-water. The shape of the flower really lent itself to try for the single large drop hanging from the bottom petal. Unfortunately, I think I missed that and should have been more precise in putting a larger drop right where I needed it.

I honestly debate if I like this shot...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250 sec at f/2.8. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw. Trillium Trails, Fox Chapel, PA.

I didn't make it back out the trails, so I'll have to wait another year to try any of these shots again.

- Bill

This isn't the first time I've asked this question here, but we'll look again at whether a shot looks better with or without flash. The settings are slightly different (a different aperture and thus depth of field), but these shots are pretty close.

1/250 sec @ f/5 with flash	1/800 sec @ f/2.8 with no flash

This nest was in a rather odd location, and if I head back to try for more trillium shots, I'll have to see if the eggs have hatched and how things are going.

- Bill

I found this little (again - in the 5mm or smaller size range) spider on my way home from work on Friday. I brought him home and moved him to a slightly larger container. He quickly decided it was time to take a nap, and make a small cocoon type web on the lid of the container and curled up to get some rest.

Later, when I went to take some photos, I thought it would be nice to get him still in the little blanket of silk. Unfortunately, he quickly woke up and was just climing out of his little hammock when I managed to fire off this one shot.

I really like this pose as it is different from what you would normally see for a spider. I'm a bit disappointed that the very top of the spider's head got cut off by the top of the frame. Also, the depth of field is pretty shallow (f/8 as opposed to the f/16 I usually shoot with this lens), and from this profile angle makes very little of the spider in focus. I also really like the blue background, and may have to try and use it more often and find some others that work well too. On top of that, this shot is at 5x magnification, so all things considered, I am pretty pleased with it.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/40 sec at f/8. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

I have a few more to share of this spider, but I promise to take a short break from the spiders here and post a few I took at Powdermill Nature Reserve.

- Bill

Just stopping by real quick to share a shot that shows just how small that jumping spider was...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/250 sec at f/13. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Hopefully that puts that 5x magnification in the shot from the other day into a little perspective.

- Bill

So I tried something new with this little guy. I've read that if you put a spider or insect in the fridge, it slows them down and makes it easier to get photos of them. I don't know if I was doing it wrong or what, but I would put this little fella in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes and it would only slow him down for a second or two before he was back up and running around.

Additionally, this shot was done at 5x magnification, so while the shots below were cropped, this one is as it was in camera...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, 1/250 sec at f/13. Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX in ETTL mode. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Enjoy!

- Bill

I tried some square crops on this recent batch of jumping spider shots... what do you think?

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/200 sec at f/11. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw. 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 and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

- Bill

I generally don't mind winter, but there is certainly one thing I dislike about the colder months - the lack of spiders and insects to shoot. Luckily, Anya has no problem promoting my love of shoot bugs, and so when she saw a jumping spider crawling around her office at work, she found a container to bring it home so I could take some photos of it.

It is always a challenge to work with a spider when it isn't in its normal environment. They will either hide or run - neither behavior really lends itself to photography. Because it is so cold and I haven't been getting many opportunities to work with spiders, we decided to keep this guy around for a bit. We put him in one of the larger containers I have from when I kept lots of reptiles and such, found him some leaves and such from house plants to use as hiding spots, and finally bought him a bunch of crickets to fatten him up during these lean times as some sort of compensation for the stress I may be inducing. Anyway - here we go...

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/200 sec at f/11. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

This shot originally was a vertical shot, but I liked this crop better and went with it - in particular, I like the lean the spider has to naturally set the balance of the shot. Also, the shot was taken on a white cardboard box, which I definitely like how that makes the shots look, and so will likely try that again in the future (though I think it adds to the way the spider doesn't like to sit still).

I'm just happy to have spiders to start working with again.

- Bill