Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Landscape & Nature Photography => Topic started by: Richard Pearlman on August 23, 2014, 07:21:00 pm

Title: Spider
Post by: Richard Pearlman on August 23, 2014, 07:21:00 pm

I took this shot yesterday with my new 70-300mm lens. Any comments or critiques are appreciated.

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: HSakols on August 23, 2014, 09:50:58 pm

I like the green background. Check out those legs. 

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: John Koerner on August 24, 2014, 12:00:44 am

I like the composition and the lighting on the green background, but you could have either (1) bracketed the shot to get more detail on the black face/leg bands, or (2) used your shadow/black sliders in Lightroom 5 to get more detail there.

Nice shot/subject though (fyi, it's a Nephila clavipes ;))

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: Chairman Bill on August 24, 2014, 05:26:12 am

The smaller spider just to the top of the abdomen - was that a mate about to be dinner, or a mate that had already been dinner?

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: Richard Pearlman on August 24, 2014, 08:57:17 am

@John- Thanks for the comment about the shadow detail. I bumped up the shadow detail some. Next time, I will think more about the exposure of the head. Also, thanks for the identification. I've run into a lot of these spiders on the trails.

@Chairman- I think about to be dinner.

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: Bob_B on August 24, 2014, 09:18:57 am

Nice. I almost missed the second smaller spider. I assume the larger one is a female and smaller one is a male?

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: maddogmurph on August 25, 2014, 07:05:49 pm

The second spider makes this shot for me.  Seems rare.

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: John Koerner on August 28, 2014, 01:47:37 am

No, the females rarely eat the males in this species.

Actually, they are almost communal, as sometimes hordes of them cluster all about, right next to each other.

Their common name is the Golden Silk Spider as their threads shine golden if the light catches them.

Here is a stack shot of another pair (a shot that I blew, BTW):

(http://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/1157632_583262605046308_529341410_n.jpg)

Here is a lone female:

(http://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/543391_582656595106909_1911203954_n.jpg?oh=fa4ef73bcbce5cd0c4d063383cff406e&oe=546DBAFB&__gda__=1415281016_c3718bc30d9412272144a6d24f2f902c)

And here is a lone male:

(http://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/1379399_600615919977643_1243379032_n.jpg)

They are almost always found together in pairs, the later in the season it gets, because they are mating now.

They grow quite large, and will peak-out in size in September, and start dying-off in October ...

Jack

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: maddogmurph on August 28, 2014, 02:23:48 pm

Pretty cool :P!

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: jannatul18 on August 29, 2014, 05:27:46 am

Lovely! What a timing of taking pictures! The spider is in it's own jone! Good one!

Title: Re: Spider
Post by: Paulo Bizarro on August 29, 2014, 09:17:21 am

Very good shot.