California Spiders @ 2.1x

[John Koerner]

Brown Lynx ♀ (Oxyopes scalaris)



Brown Lynx ♀ (Oxyopes scalaris)



Flower Crab Spider ♀ (Mecaphesa sp.)



Flower Crab Spider ♀ (Mecaphesa sp.)



Green Lynx ♀ (Peucetia longipalpis)



Flower Crab Spider ♀ (Mecaphesa sp.)


All of these images are staged (and stacked) shots, using Photoshop CC for stacking.

Each specimen was photographed on the kind of foliage it was found upon in an effort to keep some sort of "naturalistic integrity."

All images captured on a Nikon D810 + Nikkor 28mm Ai-S f/2.8 lens, reversed (at 2.1x magnification), using natural light.

Thanks for looking,

Jack

[LesPalenik]

Great pictures, up to your usual standards, Jack
Amazing that the spiders held still enough for you taking multiple stacking shots. 

[John Koerner]

Great pictures, up to your usual standards, Jack
Amazing that the spiders held still enough for you taking multiple stacking shots.

Thank you.

Regarding their standing still, these particular species are "freeze and ambush" spiders, so they're great for stacking.

Once they settle down, they just sit there ... "waiting!"

It is the species which are proactive hunters that are almost impossible to stack, but these guys are a piece of cake

Thanks again,

Jack

[Paulo Bizarro]

superb images.

[Bob_B]

Beautiful images, Jack. You set a very high standard for macrophotography.

[John Koerner]

Thank you both, much appreciated.

[NancyP]

Thank you for sharing, those are terrific shots. I will say that I have found the flower crab spiders to freeze, wait about 10 minutes, wander off to a better site, freeze, repeat. Do you automate your stacking?

[John Koerner]

Thank you for sharing, those are terrific shots.

Thank you

I will say that I have found the flower crab spiders to freeze, wait about 10 minutes, wander off to a better site, freeze, repeat.

Yes indeed.

Do you automate your stacking?

No, all-manual.

I use a RRS B150-B macro rail for the work.

I rotate the turn-dial 1/2-turn per-image, click, repeat, until I have the desired DOF.

I don't like to over-stack. I like to keep a creamy bokeh (fore and aft) of the in-focus main area of interest of my subject.

Cheers.

[sdwilsonsct]

Really fine, John.

[John Koerner]

Thank you.

[Bob_B]

+1. I second the Really Right Stuff macro rail. Great equipment, period.