Project 52 by Bill S (ktuli)

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I think your Week 15 flower shots look great - well composed, great selection of flower colours against the background - and an absolutely spot on DoF. The robin eggs for me I think perhaps need to be shot at a different time of day as there are some shadows casting some uneven light across the frame which doesn't help to draw your attention to the eggs. Having said that, I have a feeling that it could be transformed into a pretty good B&W.

I'd call your Week 16 shot "where's spidey"?

[ktuli]

Well, I have shots rather similar to these in my week 09 post, but I've been trying to be able to get some shots that include the impressive fangs on these jumping spiders (who by relative size to their bodies have some of the largest fangs in the animal kingdom).

Thanks for viewing.

- Bill

[FrankMi]

As I can't hope to get pictures like these, I can't offer any constructive criticism but rather simply admire your images. Thank you for posting, Bill!

[ktuli]

I have photos from all the weeks (or roughly close to it), but I've been behind in processing them so I'm playing a little catch up in my P52...

- Bill

[ktuli]

This set of photos really doesn't show any real merit in terms of photography. I kind of dropped the ball on getting anything good here (and I guess ran the risk of a ticket or getting arrested in a foreign country - just north in Canada), but they do represent a case of actually seeing something and going out of my way to take the photos.

My wife and I were on a trip to Toronto and Niagara Falls and were driving along the QEW and on a bridge crossing Burlington Bay, we saw these islands absolutely swarming with cormorants. We got off at the next exit and made our way back to take some photos. At first we just stopped along the road, but were instructed by a very polite officer that we weren't allowed to do that, so with his directions, moved to a better location.

Unfortunately, the skies kind of were blah, the lighting was horrible, and the distance was just a bit too far (even with a 500mm lens!). But the experience was fun...

- Bill

[ktuli]

OK - so I know this HDR processing is terrible, and hopefully sometime soon I'll find the energy and time to retry it either with different settings or a different HDR processor, but as P52 is all about learning and this is my first attempt at HDR, I thought I'd share...



And pointers folks can share in how to improve the HDR processing would be greatly appreciated.

- Bill

[ktuli]

Ok - I have some serious catch-up to do on my P52. I don't think these are technically from Week 21, but we'll say they are... These were all taken at the Toronto Zoo.









- Bill

[ktuli]

Yep - more catch up... These are from the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory







- Bill

[ktuli]

Still a little catch-up here. These actually were taken during Week 23, but I just have been terrible at posting recently. All I've been shooting recently are spiders and insects, so....





- Bill

[ktuli]

Like I said, all I've been shooting is Jumping Spiders...







- Bill

[ktuli]

And even more jumping spiders...





And of course the Fluorescing Jumping Spider

- Bill

[Geoff F]

Those spider photos are excellent. 'Jumpers' are truly wonderful things to watch, particularly when they are hunting.

[ktuli]

Those spider photos are excellent. 'Jumpers' are truly wonderful things to watch, particularly when they are hunting.

Geoff,

Thanks! I definitely have you to thank for some of the additional techniques I've learned that have helped me improve this type of photography.

I definitely love watching jumping spiders - in fact, I stood and watched a pair do their courtship dance for about 20 minutes the other day! The male (I assume) would walk forward a few very cautious steps and wave his front legs around, then retreat. The female (again, I assume) would watch and then turn and walk away a few steps while turning her abdomen on rather peculiar angles (take from that what you will.... ). I never did get to see the result of all this frantic back-and-forth, but it was definitely fun to watch for a bit... if even just to get a small glimpse into the private lives of these tiny little creatures.

- Bill

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Bill,

Don't know how I've missed your P52 thread for half a year

Amazing technical quality - on the macro shots especially, well done

I'm like Frank (several posts ago) - don't know what to say

I'm way further behind than you though

[ktuli]

Well - I might as well keep this jumping spider portfolio going...

Recently I had this jumping spider molt. This is the first time I've seen such a small spider molt (I've seen tarantulas do it plenty of times, but never something this small). When I found he was molting, he had already shed his legs and mandibles - I tried to get a photo of that, but it was tangled in some silk, and trying to get it out, I made a bit of a mess of things:



But geez! Look at those fangs!

Then I noticed that he hadn't completed his molt yet...





As I tried to help him finish the molt, I fired off a couple shots. In the end, I had to return him to his container with some small pieces of wet paper towel to give him sufficient moisture/humidity to complete the molt. Once I saw he was ok, I released him back into the wild today so he could continue growing to his next molt.

- Bill

[BJ Denning]

Great images. I have to ask, what is the trick to getting these? The spider appear alive. How do you get them positioned for the shot. Macros have such a small DoF and presumablly you're pretty close to them.

[IanCD]

Hi Bill,
Like Dave, I've somehow only just come across your P52 and spider threads... (following a trail leading from your comment re the MP-E65 on Mark's 'Hairy Butt' pic, via 'War Paint'..! )
Astounding pics and great technique...! I'm only just starting getting to grips with 1:1 macro work, so I'm in awe of what you're achieving here.
Ian

[ktuli]

Hi Bill,

Don't know how I've missed your P52 thread for half a year

Amazing technical quality - on the macro shots especially, well done

I'm like Frank (several posts ago) - don't know what to say

I'm way further behind than you though

Dave,

Amusingly enough - I missed your response here! So I guess we're even...

Thanks for the compliments. And I highly recommend getting caught up - the feeling of satisfaction I got from getting back on schedule was reward in itself.

- Bill

[ktuli]

Great images. I have to ask, what is the trick to getting these? The spider appear alive. How do you get them positioned for the shot. Macros have such a small DoF and presumablly you're pretty close to them.

BJ,

In a word, my trick is.... Patience.

Yes, all of the spiders I work with are alive. The biggest thing there is being patient and observing their behaviors. One advantage I have over the guys working with flies and such is that the spiders can only go so far so quickly. So I generally isolate them on a plant (sometimes I'll bring a potted plant into the house and put the spider on it). I then hang back a bit and let the spider settle down some - I observe its behaviors, see if it is extremely jittery or if it is calmer. I try to learn to predict what it is going to do - for example, if it has a tendency to walk from underneath a leaf to on top of them, I'll wait above the leaf for the spider to come up over the edge. It is sometimes very difficult, but if you can get a food source for them, I've found that quite often a jumping spider is more likely to hold its ground and continue eating instead of dropping its food to run away - this certainly helps give you more time to work and definitely some interesting images...





I do all of this work hand-held... the spiders move around far too much and get into some weird positions that I've found a tripod very restricting. By the time I would get setup, the spider would have already moved. So I use a flash (either a 580EXII on a flash arm if I'm working with my 1:1 macro lens, or the MT-24EX if working with the MP-E65 5:1 macro lens) to allow me to get the shutter speed up to 1/250s (I've debated trying high speed sync, but have not yet found it necessary) so I can help eliminate camera shake. With the MP-E65, I only have the option of manual focus, so I will use the rocking technique of moving the camera closer/further away from the subject and firing the shutter at the right time. I use this technique with the other lenses that do have AF, but I have started trying to improve my technique of selecting the AF point and letting it do the work for me. If I'm working with the MP-E65, the working distance can get all the way down to 1.6 inches(!) - so yeah, the spider has to be pretty cooperative at that point... I've had plenty of spiders jump right onto the front of my lens...

But as I said - the main key is patience. You have to slow down and allow yourself to be able to almost enter the world of the spider. Work on their terms and just let things happen. Get yourself in position and let the spider give you the poses (and have a quick trigger finger!).

- Bill

[ktuli]

Hi Bill,
Like Dave, I've somehow only just come across your P52 and spider threads... (following a trail leading from your comment re the MP-E65 on Mark's 'Hairy Butt' pic, via 'War Paint'..! )
Astounding pics and great technique...! I'm only just starting getting to grips with 1:1 macro work, so I'm in awe of what you're achieving here.
Ian

Ian,

Thanks for the compliments. I've noticed some of your macro work in the other threads. Definitely keep at it - I find it is my most favorite type of photography... well, maybe second favorite behind underwater photography, but since I only get on 1 or 2 dive trips a year, macro is much more accessible for me!

- Bill