Ajith,
Ok - I personally like #3 and #4 best.
#1 I feel is just over processed and/or covered with digital noise. I have to look really hard to tell what is what.
#2 feels just a bit too bright, and the one leg breaks the edge of the frame.
#3 I think has a better balance of the tones and while the spider still stands out, it seems more in line with the scene. I would just do a small crop to remove the green leaves from the right side as they are a little distracting and pull away from the spider - just don't cut off any of the legs as they are all in the frame right now! This would also serve to get the spider slightly off center.
#4 does a great job of concealing the spider just enough. Sometimes that's how you encounter spiders - you focus on the web first and then you see the spider. I like getting that feeling from the photo as well. The only things I'm not as thrilled about with this version is the hole in the web above the spider - it stands out so much more in this version than the others... but in all fairness, unless you've got eight legs and spinnerets, there's not much you're going to do about that. Also, the out of focus lines in the foreground (another web closer to the camera?) are a bit distracting, but only minorly. I also think with this long, skinny subject, the vertical format really is the best option.
One a side note, I think these are the same species of spider I saw while in Bali, Indonesia. They were everywhere and often had webs between the powerlines. Including legs, I swear some of them reached 10-12 inches in size! Maybe bigger. Unfortunately, I only ever managed to get one decent shot of them and it was of a much smaller one that Ajith has here (I can share if Ajith doesn't mind). I guess I'll just have to go back and try again... SOON!
- Bill