Golden Orb-Web Spider Female, Male and Prey

[Gabriela Plesea]

Been in doubt whether to post this or not, seeing the quality of the images on this website. There isn't much detail on the spider , the lighting conditions were unfavorable. Yet I find this sighting so interesting that I would like to share it: the female spider is busy devouring its prey, and if you look carefully you can see the little male treading carefully (he is at risk of being eaten as well:2eyes2:). This image was taken with a big lens, I was in a hide near water and waiting for birds to land when I noticed this spider .

Nikon D3S
Nikon 500 VR
1.4 converter
1/2500s
F7.1

Critique welcome, be it technical or otherwise, thank you for viewing!

Kind regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, just browsing and saw this, thought I would take a look. I like the way the subject is almost 'suspended in animation' so to speak.

Am away so using the laptop, so never ideal but, I would open up the shadows in LR, then using a Curves adjustment, open the subject up even more then add some more USM. Not sure if this helps, or correct, but I also added two Graduate adjustments, diagonal, to help darken the top LHC & bottom RHC, (optional), probably too dark now, just wanted more detail in there, albeit minimal. Hope this helps and trust you had a good time at the park. :w3

TFS
Steve

[Jerry van Dijk]

It's very funny to form your thoughts about how to improve an image and then scroll down to see that someone did exactly that! I'm glad you posted this, because as you say there is a lot to look at in this image to make it very interesting. Steve's tweaks take it to the right level to make this a keeper! Some might find the spider a bit too close to the right hand side of the frame, but I can live with that. Very well done!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Jerry, and thank you so much for your reply and for viewing of course! Mr Kaluski always has this magic touch, I was afraid to lighten up this image thinking it would become dull...look at what he did with it! Thank you Steve, you are a magician:5

Warmest regards,

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Gabriela, I find that the shadows/highlights tool in Photoshop gives you very good control over the tonal range that will be brightened up. Once you've used it a couple of times, it's fairly easy to use without making images dull, you can easily try it yourself!

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Jerry-you are absolutely right, it's just that at times I am burning to post something and I choose an image I processed some time ago:S3: , because the lack of time these days. I should take the raw image and redo it, using the knowledge I have gained since I joined BPN. I often cannot see fault in a photograph I have worked on before, perhaps because I am so used to it? I realized recently that during my processing (in the past) I was not concerned with detail that much. I had a tendency to darken my subjects in order to make them stand out. Mr Kaluski has taught me a great deal over the past few weeks, I do not always follow his advice correctly and this is because my technical knowledge was (still is) rather limited-I never went for courses and learnt almost everything by myself. I am so kin to improve, I appreciate any criticism no matter how harsh it may be. Going back to shadows/highlights, although I did use the tool ever so often, I did not use it correctly-will pay more attention from now on:w3Thank you again, Jerry!

Have a great week-end,

Warm regards,

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Gabriela. What a cool spider and nice job with the large "macro" lens! I like that we can clearly see its colorful prey as well as the spider's fangs. The tiny male is a big bonus! Steve's repost did a great job of what I would have suggested - and turned a pretty good image into an eye-popping image! :S3:

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Gabriela, my knowledge is only gained from my experience and from the treasure trove contained within BPN. By all means try Highlight/Shadow, but I find it too aggressive, so my advice would be try it, however treat it with care. I tend to use Curves, but again it's horses for courses and try everything and find what suits you. ALWAYS do it as an adjustment layer or duplicated layer, that way you can always bit it. :S3:

Likewise have a great weekend and keep up that great philosophy of learning and taking onboard feedback, it will pay off in truck loads.

Cheers
Steve

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Steve! I thought so too, "eye popping" indeed! My heartfelt thanks to you for your kind comments and again to Mr Steve Kaluski who somehow finds the time to always come to my rescue:5

Wishing you a fun week-end,

[Mitch Haimov]

Very cool, Gabriela! Finding a position where you can see the "face" can be challenging and require interesting contortions. The big lens worked well for you here--I think you would have been in the web if you shot the same composition with a macro lens. SK did a great job pulling out the potential of this image.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very good shot, the repost is excellent. I think you have caught a special moment with prey and the little male spider, just a tad more space on the right and Steve's tweaks and you have a super shot - well done!

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Gabriela, This is a compelling image and Steve's repost really makes it pop. As mentioned above, seeing the fangs of the spider and the tiny male spider adds another level of interest. - Allen

[Jason Stander]

Hi Gab's... fancy meeting you here... you know how I feel about this image... stunning detail and bg... WD!:w3

[Gabriela Plesea]

Jason! So good to meet you here on BPN! Please post some of your amazing pics, I so look forward to viewing more of your brilliant images here!

Have a magic week-end,