Tiny Spider

[Mitch Haimov]

133998

1/200 sec at f/14 and ISO 400 at 5:1
1DIII, 65 mm macro lens, macro twin flash (diffused), hand held

[Jonathan Ashton]

I can just imagine how tricky these images are to get, it has just occurred to me - and I am assuming this littler spider was static (??) would these critters be more easily focused using a tripod and live view??
Anyhow the exposure looks good - maybe critical focus is just a tad off the eyes but nonetheless a fine shot. I am puzzled by the dark area that appears to be on the leg - is that a knee joint?

[Mitch Haimov]

Thanks, Jon. I well may have just missed critical focus on the eyes--even looking at the master image I am not entirely sure. Since they don't have discernible surface structure like insect eyes I find it difficult to determine. Regarding using a tripod, it might have been possible. It is one of nearly 2000 images I made in a two week period in August (many--but not all--macro), and I do not specifically remember the circumstances of this one. The air would have to have been dead calm for a tripod to have been feasible. Also, while the lens barrels has a 58 mm diameter, the front element is only 20 mm and the working distance at 5:1 is 40 mm. All of which conspire to make finding the subject in the viewfinder difficult at the high end of this lens' magnification range. Doing so on a tripod, then finding a pleasing composition and a magic angle to maximize use of the minuscule DOF, would be quite a challenge. But I should find time to experiment with that when wind and subject are both cooperative (nonexistent and static, respectively).

P.S. That August outing was nearly my first time working with this lens and much of my photographic effort went into practicing hand holding technique with it. This was a novel experience for me as I prior to obtaining this lens I essentially always used a tripod. I was pleasantly surprised with my keeper rate--certainly better than I was lead to believe from the reading I did about this lens prior to purchasing.

[Alan Lillich]

Great head on pose. I'm amazed you got close enough with a 65mm lens. The focus looks darned good to me. I agree maybe a fraction of a mm in front of the eyes, but who's to quibble in this case! I wonder if the yellow in the BG could be desaturated a little to let the spider be more prominent.

[shane shacaluga]

The dark area is the stump as it is missing end of that leg!

Nice shot ;)

from the Linyphiidae family i believe

[Mitch Haimov]

Thanks, Alan. The lens is Canon's MP-E 65, which only focuses in the range of 1:1 to 5:1. I did reduce the saturation of the yellows by 15 points in the raw conversion process, but looking at it again agree that I should have taken them down further.

Thank you for the help with the ID, Shane! After doing a little reading about Linyphiidae, I am inclined to agree although in this case the "large sheet web" fit into a dandelion. And your explanation of the "dark area" perfectly illustrates how we often fail to see the obvious--I completely failed to recognize that the leg is incomplete, but now that you point it out it is abundantly apparent.

[Diane Miller]

This is spectacular. Anyone who can shoot hand-held with that lens has my respect, with its tiny DOF, although I see your reasoning! I love the BG color, and how it works with the spider's color.
An alternate crop could be to take a little off the top.

[Mitch Haimov]

Thanks, Diane. I did contemplate a crop as you suggest, but tend to prefer square to nearly square.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Mitch. The spider stands out nicely from the yellow and I like the comp. The overall sharpness within your DOF looks OK to me. Too bad about the missing leg - but I missed it too till I read Shane's comment. Using a tripod with this lens is challenging (to say the least) -using a focusing slider on the tripod head (and live view) would help. Well done!

[Mitch Haimov]

Thanks, Steve. I'm not bothered by the truncated leg. Well, not photographically, anyway. Don't wish that fate anyone; then again, it's better than being someone's lunch. And the image suggests the story of survival in the face of adversity, as this arachnid appears quite ready to snack on anyone who stops by for a bit of pollen.