Post your Spiders

[Letrow]

One of the spiders (Araneus diadematus) in my garden

Notice the little protusion just behind her hind legs? I just read some information on spiders today and found out that it is the epigyne (the female genital opening, it is a hardened reddish-brown area, and is seen only in mature females).

[Geoff F]

Another Harvestman; and an even stranger looking specimen.

Dicranopalpus ramosus originated from Morocco and reached the UK during the 1950s. They are mostly found around ports which had trade with North Africa or Southern Europe although they have colonised much of Europe now; and are gradually expanding their range in the UK.



And a close up.



Body length is around 5 mm with legs up to 50 mm. Sitting with legs fully outstretched like this is a typical pose for them.

[Letrow]

Another Harvestman; and an even stranger looking specimen.

Dicranopalpus ramosus originated from Morocco and reached the UK during the 1950s. They are mostly found around ports which had trade with North Africa or Southern Europe although they have colonised much of Europe now; and are gradually expanding their range in the UK.



And a close up.



Body length is around 5 mm with legs up to 50 mm. Sitting with legs fully outstretched like this is a typical pose for them.

Been reading a bit on these animals. They are quite ugly though in my opinion, really more of an alien than anything I have met before in my back garden (both on the arachnid or insect side)

[Letrow]

One of my (tiny) garden spiders consuming a huge bumblebee



Neat little package, just one leg left that is still poking through the silk

[bishopsmead]

I found this one in my garden last week . . . . he (she probably) was one of at least a dozen busily collecting insects around the trees.

[Hero]

(~3000*2000)
Not my best, but I like it because of the the shadow of the overhead netting

[chrisa62401]

[chrisa62401]

[Letrow]

Impressive little beast Chris, nice coloured fangs (? I suppose they are). He wasn't too aggressive?

[chrisa62401]

Impressive little beast Chris, nice coloured fangs (? I suppose they are). He wasn't too aggressive?

He was pretty jumpy(pun intended). After a while he settled down.
Here's one from a couple of nights ago. They are everywhere right now.

[chrisa62401]

Another Jumping spider. This one escaped in to the kitchen after I was done. Don't tell the wife.

[maloufn]

Another Jumping spider. This one escaped in to the kitchen after I was done. Don't tell the wife.

Dear Chris,

You are doing a great job capturing these jumping spiders. I dont know if you have heard of Thomas Shahan. Look up his great work on Flickr. Your capture is also great. I am wondering if you could share your setup with us- lens, flash, aperature etc. I am envious you have so many where you are. I finally had one land on my computer at work the other day. I put it in a urine sample jar and took it home to photograph. Ive never seen one in Nature yet.

[Nass]

wish we had more jumpers in the UK, I never come across 'em =(

A quick spider hanging upside down from the w/e, yeesh what an utter pain it was to get this shot handheld windy weather

He was absolutely tiny, 3 mm or so at most. Amazing orange head and *1* red eye

[chrisa62401]

Dear Chris,

You are doing a great job capturing these jumping spiders. I dont know if you have heard of Thomas Shahan. Look up his great work on Flickr. Your capture is also great. I am wondering if you could share your setup with us- lens, flash, aperature etc. I am envious you have so many where you are. I finally had one land on my computer at work the other day. I put it in a urine sample jar and took it home to photograph. Ive never seen one in Nature yet.

Canon 50D with a Canon 100mm macro f/2.8 plus a full set of Kenko tubes.
Canon 430EX flash on a home made bracket with a home made diffuser.
Camera settings: 1/250th max flash sync f/10-13.

[Bobobird]

Cool rig Chris. Couple of questions if you don't mind.

Any particular reason for making a diffuser instead of using those simple snap on versions?
What is that collar like thing around the lens?
Can you also post pics of the home made equipment?

Thanks.

[Bobobird]

Some caught on outings.





No spider in this one, looked all over but could be hidden inside. Was wondering what could have built this monster web. It is much bigger then what is showing in the pic. LIke 2 feet long and 8 inches wide and it totally encased the leaves on the plant.

[chrisa62401]

Cool rig Chris. Couple of questions if you don't mind.

Any particular reason for making a diffuser instead of using those simple snap on versions?
What is that collar like thing around the lens?
Can you also post pics of the home made equipment?

Thanks.

I have a tripod collar on there. I used to have the bracket screwed to it. Now I have a flat piece of aluminum with a tapped hole mouted on the bottom of the camera.

The bracket is made from Ram GPS mount parts. Here are the part numbers.
2x RAM-B-237 one on both end, it is a 1/4" male threaded ball (standard camera/camcorder screw)
2x RAM-B-201-A the shortest arms
1x RAM-B-230 double ball to connect the arms.

http://www.ram-mount.com/EmptyPages/...6/Default.aspx

I have a couple of different difusers. I always come back to the home made ones for some reason. It's made from a instant noodle bowl. A piece of folded white card attatches it to the flash head. A paper towel for the difuser part.



The reason I stopped using the tripod collar, it seemed like a too much weight on the lens.

[Bobobird]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have the extension tubes and the flash. Can get a bracket at a very good price (or make one like you have). Of course missing the most important component - the lens. Cannot decide between the Canon or 3rd party offerings.

[chrisa62401]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I have the extension tubes and the flash. Can get a bracket at a very good price (or make one like you have). Of course missing the most important component - the lens. Cannot decide between the Canon or 3rd party offerings.

I think all the parts for the bracket cost around $40 on ebay. Just search by part number.

[Geoff F]

Bobo. I tried those push on plastic difusers (the genuine Sto-fen version) but didn't like them for macro work. Although they can sometimes give better colour for general indoor flash photography when shooting with the flash at a 45 degree angle.

So I always seem to return to a straight forward Speedlite flash but adjust the flash compensation to suit the scene and camera settings. Typically minus 2/3 to minus 2 with 1/250 F14 and ISO 100 or 200 all set manually.

Shooting Raw gives me a chance to change the WB during editing.

When using the Speedlite in Evaluative Flash Mode the output is automatically reduced to suit the conditions and camera settings. If a faster shutter speed is required I switch to the High-speed Flash Mode.

And for me, when frequently shooting through gaps in the foliage I find that connecting the flash straight onto the camera gives a better flash angle. Lighting from above often means shadows where I don't want them. But studio work, etc can have different requirements.