PDA

View Full Version : Crab Spider on petunia



John Robinson
01-14-2014, 05:32 PM
This little chap (1cm across) is confused . They are supposed to use flowers similar to their own colour. This one was on a petunia.
I've seen one this size take a bumble bee.
D200 Sigma 50MM Macro
Managed 3 stacked shots.
Not too bad with insects like this that are static for a while !!
ISO 200 f5.6 125th second
Tripod remote release.
About 60% of frame.
Cheers
JohnR</SPAN>

David Kenny
01-15-2014, 04:13 PM
John,

Wow! This image is sharp and the detail is amazing. Good work. Focus Stacking is one thing I have yet to try, but with results like this I may have to give it a shot this weekend. Does it take a long time to do in post?

- Dave

John Robinson
01-15-2014, 04:40 PM
H iDavid
No- dead easy. Hardest bi tis the stacking. Good tripod and cable release. Use a big aperture (f5.6 or 4 for betterdefinitionof each shot. ) Manual focus - start at front and do say four focuse points working backwards towards the rear of fthe subject When youhave done a sequence -take a blurred shot of something to separate each sequence. I use CZM which is a free download. Put your segqence of pics in the box and press "do macro" and thats it !!
You can do it in photoshop but Iwouldn't know how.
Any porbs -pm me.
Cheers
John

Jonathan Ashton
01-16-2014, 12:50 PM
Johnny a pleasing image but if you look critically there are a few areas of ghostliness and slight fuzziness, I am not expert at stacking - not done it for several years but I would imagine for something with this depth of potential focus you would need multiple images - don't ask me how many but my guess would be a minimum of 7.

John Robinson
01-16-2014, 01:42 PM
Dead right Jon
They tend to twitch their legs !! More stacks just makes it worse. Thats why I don't do many "live things ":e3
Cheers
John

Roman Kurywczak
01-18-2014, 12:09 PM
Hey John,

I really like the comp....but the legs caught my eye right away with a bit of a funky look. I don't stack....so no help from me there.

John Robinson
01-18-2014, 01:09 PM
Thanks Roman
Yes I might try and tart it up abit or I may have another with less leg movement.
Cheers
John

John Robinson
01-18-2014, 07:48 PM
Tried one from a different one in the stack sequence and played a bit. Don't like "playing" too much but then that's what all digital"phoroshopping,Paint Shop Proing " is anyway.
Cheers
John

Steve Maxson
01-25-2014, 11:57 AM
Hi John. I agree this light-colored spider seems out of place on the bright red flower - but it makes a great photo-op! These little guys must have some very fast-acting venom to be able to routinely subdue bees larger than themselves! I prefer the repost because it doesn't have the "ghosting" around the legs on the left side (I assume that was a by-product of the stacking). Yup, stacking with a subject that moves even a tiny bit causes problems. I would suggest using more images in your stack, but you do need a cooperative subject. For the most part you have good sharpness though I would wish that the "horns" or bumps above the eyes were a little crisper looking. You might also consider selectively brightening the face just a bit as it appears to be in a slight shadow - a minor tweak. Overall, this is a very colorful and attractive image!