Sucking the juices

[Jason Stander]

Hi all... always great to photograph jumpers... but jumpers with a catch is also a treat... it also makes them more static to photograph... difficult with the dof of the MPE to get both the catch (which was a rock fly) and the jumper in focus... tried the parallel plain to get both in focus.

Canon 60D
Canon MPE 65mm f2.8
MT-24EX Macro twinlite (diffused)
Aperture: f16
Mag: x2.5
SS: 1/160s
ISO: 100
Metering: Spot

Crits and comments welcome... ENJOY!:w3

[Carel v/d Sanden]

This is a wonderful macro congratulations on a great shooting

[Jonathan Ashton]

This is in my opinion an exceptionally good image, the DOF/plane of focus at this mag must have been a nightmare but you nailed it - congratulations.

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Carel and Jonathan!:w3

[nzmacro]

Sharp and detailed exactly where it should be, fine selective focus and a fantastic behaviour shot. Congrats on a brilliant macro shot. Love everything about it !!

Danny.

[PhilCook]

Stunning work, dof is very nice, fine detail is extraordinary right down to the cellular structure of the leaf

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Danny and Phil!:w3:w3

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jason. As noted above, you got the limited DOF exactly where it needs to be. Excellent use of the diffused flash too. This is an outstanding behavioral image! :cheers:

[Anita Bower]

Again, my disclaimer that I'm not a bug photographer. I like this one a lot! I think you got the focus just right to obtain beautiful detail in all the right places. Beautiful light. Well done.

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Steve and Anita!:w3

[Charissa]

A beautiful image J. Exposure, detail, dof and IQ is spot on. Love it. :)

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Charissa!

[Nancy Phillips]

Fantabulous! Great behavior shot of an interesting subject, with critical focus on the spider eyes and head, and on the prey. It couldn't be better.
Do you hand-hold the MPE65, and if so, how do you steady yourself? I find it hard to believe how many people shoot at higher than 1:1, hand held.

[Jason Stander]

Thank you Nancy!

[Nancy Phillips]

BTW, doesn't it seem amazing that spiders have 8 eyes? This jumping spider should have approximately 270 degrees coverage, handy for its prey-seeking and predator-avoiding. That tiny eye in-between the front set of 4 eyes and the back eye - I wonder if it is a highly specialized eye to detect just one wavelength range or just one type of motion. Biologists on the thread - comments? If it isn't single-celled or a vertebrate, my biology knowledge is minimal to bupkis.

[Nancy Phillips]

Here's the layman's summary of spider eye function. Note especially that the jumper front large eyes form sharp images and have an f number of f/0.58, better than a cat's eye (f/0.9).
http://australianmuseum.net.au/How-spiders-see-the-world/