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Jason Stander
10-25-2011, 08:43 AM
Hi all... when taking a break between all the amazing game drives at Motswari private game reserve (RSA)... I decided to take out the macro lens (MPE 65mm) and look for interesting subjects to photograph... and I had no luck at all for about an hour... it was midday and swelting hot... was just about to give up... when suddenly a spider (5mm in length) dangled in the corner of my eye... dangle to a branch... I had a quick look and thought it is probably an ugly spider... so don't bother... but decided to take a shot anyway... and surprise surprise... here was a bark spider which had just hunted a jumper... it was difficult (with such a narrow dof) to get both the eyes of the bark and jumping spider in focus... look how both spider camouflage so well with the bark of the branch... I was delighted!

Crits and comments welcome... ENJOY

Canon 60D + MPE 65mm + Mt-24EX Macro twin lite (diffused)

Aperture: f16
SS: 1/250s
ISO:125

Brendan Dozier
10-25-2011, 08:59 AM
Very cool Jason, what a great behavior capture! Love the pose and those two faces, amazing camouflage they have. I like the light and that you have a diagonal line to your comp. Wishing for a bit more sharpness and maybe a tad more contrast too. Very nice!

Julie Kenward
10-25-2011, 11:49 AM
Excellent work, Jason and what a great find! I think it would have taken me all day to figure out there were two spiders here if you hadn't pointed it out. Great camo against the bark of the tree but I agree that a little more contrast might help delineate them a bit more. Really well done for that lens!

Allen Sparks
10-25-2011, 10:38 PM
Really nice work! Critical focus is where it needs to be. nice BG too. well done.

Ken Childs
10-26-2011, 10:16 AM
Great find, Jason! A spider and its prey is always a good subject but when that prey is another spider, it's definitely more interesting! I like the comp and the focus is where it needs to be. I agree hat a little more contrast is all that's needed to finish this one off. As Jules already said, "Really well done for that lens!". :S3:

Jerry van Dijk
10-26-2011, 01:25 PM
Very special image Jason! With all the eyes and the camouflage it's difficult to make out what is going on! Great handling of the exposure and flash, by the way.

Steve Maxson
10-27-2011, 11:02 AM
Hi Jason. This is a very cool find from a behavioral standpoint and you did a very nice job of capturing it. The lighting from your diffused flash worked very well here and you nailed the sharpness on both sets of eyes. As suggested above, you might try increasing the contrast a little and you might also try some additional selective sharpening on the abdomens of both spiders to see if you can bring out any more detail there. I think these tweaks will put this image over the top! Very well done!