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

I realized recently that I haven't posted any spider shots in a while, and that I never got back to sharing more shots of this jumping spider. So, without any further ado, here you go.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM (first shot with Kenko Teleplus PRO 300 "DG" AF 2x Teleconverter), 1/250 sec at f/16. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 160. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw.

Such a cool little spider.

- Bill

Just another quick photo to share again today... I've been putting in a ton of extra hours at work, and it is just so mentally draining that it is having a physical toll too. Can't wait to get to this trip coming up and relax for a bit.

Anyway, it has been a bit since we've done a spider shot, so we'll take a look at a cool crab spider on a dahlia bud. I'd seen (and shot) several of these crab spiders this summer, and having this one on this richly colored dahlia was just so nice. I probably should crop it differently, but for now, here's the shot right out of the camera (with RAW processing of course)....

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250 sec at f/16. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

I think after jumping spiders, crab spiders are my second favorite variety of spiders.

- Bill

These spiders are often found on relatively large webs that they spin across paths through the woods. Interestingly enough, they often build them in a diagonal manner such that you are usually able to duck under them on one side without disturbing the web or the spider - if you see them first of course!

We took a walk through the woods out at Round Hill Park about a thirty-minute drive from our house, and while the day was swelteringly hot, we had no luck finding much of anything else other than these spiders...

But, they're pretty cool spiders once you take a moment to look at them. They look like something you'd expect to see in a tropical jungle, not a deciduous forest here in PA.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/200 sec at f/16. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing in Adobe Camera Raw. Round Hill Park, Elizabeth, PA.

I am pretty sure that all of these are Spined Micrathenas (Micrathena gracilis). The only one I'm not 100% about is the rusty brown colored one. Most photos I've found of the others are all jet black like the other two.

I really like the detail in the abdomens in these shots - especially in the ones where you are able to see the silk still coming out of the spinerettes. Those concentric rings leading out from the spinerettes really made the abdomens look like they were made of stone - and from what I've read about these spiders, their abdomens with those spines are hard enough that you can actually puncture your flesh if you try to smash the spider by hand.

Pretty cool little spiders.

- Bill

Jumping spiders are quickly becoming my favorite subjects... and this one was probably the largest jumping spider I've ever seen. If my calculations are correct, he was about 15mm long, and for jumping spiders, that's pretty hefty. But here he is in much larger detail.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250 sec at f/16. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 100. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw. Powdermill Nature Reserve.

- Bill

Ok - been too long since I've done a spider post, so here's a nice orb weaver spider I shot a few weeks ago. I set this one up on my (old) tripod and was hand holding the flash for different angles (after having the dramatic lightning from a side position). However, it ended up being a straight on lighting was the best - especially to pickup the highlights on that beautiful web.

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/250 sec at f/22. Canon Speedlight 580EX II flash in auto mode and wireless control. Image Stabilization on. ISO 160. RAW processing and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.

I think this is an Araneus species, but identification being what it is, I am not certain of which species. I really hope that some day I can find a really nice identification guide... that or I'm going to start making my own.

- Bill