Nasseem,
No tubes,just a 150 macro.The MR-14ex is a Canon ringlight flash.It makes for a nice light weight setup.I haven't worked with it much.It has 2 tubes so you can dial in different ratios to get different lighting angles etc.It's the baby brother to the MT-24ex twinlite.
I'm keeping th MR-14ex because I'm going to get a MPE-65 lens in the near future.I think it will work well with that lens.
Yep, this guy’s knees are so large they are part of his title.
We did a nocturnal walk through the rainforests of Costs Rica and the guide drew this little fellow out of his hole. The hole is about 8 inches in diameter and this guy would fill your whole hand as displayed here – not just the palm. I actually don’t know how you would squash it.
Having said that he was a magnificent animal (I think he has outgrown the title spider).
Spider by Christopher Brian's Photography, on Flickr
This is an unsharp and noisy photo, but there is a story behind it, so I decided to share.
This spider built a new web outside my porch every night. In the morning, the web and spider were gone. The amazing thing is that the web was anchored on one side by a single strand (is that the right term) that extended about twenty feet to a tree. The spider must have started at the tree and then crawled across the lawn to the porch and climbed to the top where he/she built the web, The web building process went on every night for over a week at which point, the spider disappeared.
This photo was taken shortly before sundown
Mark,
Actually many spiders will actually tear down their own webs each morning - they actually eat the silk which they can digets and reuse. And whether she crawled along the ground or "flew" is the question. Spiders can release a drag line into the breeze - however so slight and it works like a reverse parachute. The also keep an achor line on their original perch and thus can control their ascent. Once they make it to their destination, they reel in the drag line and eat it, and begin building their web.
Watch for the same behavior around the same time this year, you'll likely see a repeat performance.
- Bill
Have we had any photos of spiders carrying around their eggs in a 'plastic bag' for safety?
This is one of the Pardosa species with it's egg sac behind.
Very common here at the moment but difficult to photograph as they scurry around so fast. This one was soaking up a bit of sun so I managed to get within 18 ins using a 180 macro lens, plus flash.
Peter, your spider certainly looks like a young Araneus diadematus.
This is one of the most interesting threads I seen in a while. Most of you seem well versed and very knowledgeable about the subject. As I don’t have any ‘real’ spider shots to contribute I thought I might add a bit of humor with this shot of a Halloween Spider with the Munchies! I hope it doesn't offend anyone!
That 'spider' is certainly a very imaginative creation Frank.
Colin,
Looks like that guy had semi-recently been rather ticked off at someone... I notice the bare spot on his rump where he's been flinging hairs at whatever was annoying him.
I used to own a pet store, and while I didn't carry tarantulas in stock, I did do some special orders for a couple customers. Of particular note were a couple Goliath Bird Eaters, and a King Baboon Spider - you know... the *big* suckers! A couple of the breeders/distributors I talked to said they would often prefer to be bitten than to get those hairs flung at them. Not only does the bald spot make the spider harder to sell, but the hairs supposedly itch like fiberglass insulation - unpleasant.
Is that spider yours?
- Bill