I don't seem to have much motivation to process photos these days, but I finally plowed my way through a huge stack of photos that have been sitting on memory cards waiting to be processed and uploaded. So since it has been almost a month since I've posted anything, I'll just share a big assortment today to get caught up. Perhaps I'll get out and collect some more photos here soon.

Just mouseover the thumbnails for the larger version to be displayed...

And now for some vertical oriented photos:

Thanks for viewing and hopefully I can get back to a more regular posting schedule here soon.

- Bill

Anya found this pretty little lynx spider for me the other day... Striped Lynx Spider (Oxyopes salticus). I've seen other lynx spiders before, but they usually are not very cooperative with the camera; this one gave me a good series of photos from different angles and magnifications.

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.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Bill

Ok - I know you arachnophobes out there are going to hate this post as I put something super cute right next to something you probably think is disgusting, but I'm just so amazed by this that I have to share.

So spiders are obviously nothing new for me here, and to be honest if I was able to see them with more frequency, neither would frogs. I've always loved frogs, they fascinate me - when we owned the pet store, I had a field day buying and selling so many exotic species of frogs! I've seen some tiny frogs (breed poison dart frogs and you'll see TINY!), but I wasn't expecting what I found the other day when Anya and I took the dogs to the park for a walk.

Hopping across the path were these absolutely tiny frogs - so small that at first glance, I thought they were just crickets. However, upon further inspection I realized my error and was floored by how cute they were. We returned the next day with a couple collection containers so we could catch a few to bring home to photograph in a more controlled environment (and to not be in the way of other folks trying to use the path).

So where does the spider come in? Well, earlier in the day, Anya caught a jumping spider (a Phidippus audax... yeah, I know, I've gotten to the point where I actually know some of them by their scientific names by heart now) in our kitchen and trapped it in another one of the collection container.

Here are some photos of both the spider and the frogs at equal magnification...

1x magnification	1x magnification	2x magnification	2x magnification

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. (for all shots)

I know - your first reaction is going to be that these photos are just on different scales and it just appears to be that they are so close in size (honestly, I think the spider is actually a tiny bit bigger), but trust me - these are accurate depictions. In fact, the lens I was using will only focus at specific magnifications, it doesn't work any other day... so if I set it to 1:1 magnification, I can only take photos at 1:1 magnification.

So I have to ask... what is your reaction to this? Answer the poll below and let me know what you think!

- Bill

Since I've been sharing photos of various bird nests, I think it is only fair I share a photo of some spider eggs...

The white ball behind this spider is full of thousands of tiny spider eggs. This mother wolf spider will carry it with her until they hatch, at which point the spiderlings will climb up on their mother's back to hitch a ride for a few days until they are ready to spread out on their own.

I've never managed to find a wolf spider carrying an egg sack before, so this was a bit of a treat for me. We stopped our work in the yard so I could get my camera and take some photos. I only managed to get three frames off before she bolted for cover and I lost her in the undergrowth, but luckily the shots I did get off turned out to be nice sharp images.

Technical Data: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250 sec at f/16. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in eTTL mode. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

I'm trying to get caught up with processing photos, so hopefully I'll be able to continue sharing more springtime photos.

Stay tuned!

- Bill

Back to the macro lens for today with a tiny jumping spider about to make a death defying leap...

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

Hopefully all the spiders and some of the bugs (not mosquitoes and ticks and such) found somewhere warm to bunker down through this stupid last bit of really cold weather we got.

- 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