Spiders
Late summer always seems to be the best time of year for me to photograph big orb-web spiders. They’re all over the yard, and they’ve had time to get nice and big. In the past I only had a film camera to use with my macro lens, so it always took a while to actually see the results. Then there’s the difficulty of getting a nice, sharp close-up at night. The depth of field on a macro lens is already very narrow, and it’s even harder when the subject is floating back and forth on its web…
But, this time both problems were solved. Now I have a good digital SLR that I can use with my macro lens, so I can see the results right away, and even correct any issues I might encounter. Also, the spider happened to build its web on the front porch, directly across from the porch light. (A good place for a web, I must say!) So, I took 20-30 photos of the little beast, and a few of them actually turned out OK.
Check out the photos! This is my new “Insects” album; I’ll be uploading some other photos of dragonflies and praying mantises that I took this summer too.