This arachnid was sitting in the middle of a web, right next to my car where I parked at my local office supply store. I grabbed the camera and took a bunch of shots. I'm not sure whether it's a spider or a solfugid.
Bill
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Olympus M.60mm f/2.8 Macro lens
1/180, f/11, ISO 400
hand-held
direct sunlight, no flash
Well focused. Too bad the light is harsh, but it looks like you might be able to bring up the shadow areas some without causing problems. My understanding is that solifugae do not spin webs, so I believe this is a spider.
Mitch, thanks for the comment. I think you're right about this being a spider. It seems to match the description and picture of Araneus diadematus, the Cross orbweaver, in my copy of Common Spiders of North America. If so, it's a female. (Even if not, it's probably a female.)
I tried bringing up the shadows a bit in Lightroom per your suggestion. Here's the result.
A fine image, the repost provides a little more detail. I like the fine web, it really is amazing that they never become entangled themselves.
PS - thanks I looked up solfugid - I didn't know what it was!!
Arachnid On Web
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