Close Encounter with a Green Lynx Spider

[Brownbear]

Sharing just for fun and because he is so cute, and also because I was amazed that I was able to identify the critter. Not always easy to do with insects.

When I came met this spider I was immediately smitten with his unique beauty. I encouraged him to climb upon a blue exercise/play noodle and he obliged. In hindsight a green leaf would have been a better choice.

Hand held because I couldn't manage the composition I wanted using a tripod (I truly tried)...

Beautiful usually means venomous, and indeed this spider bites, hard. Albeit his bite will not kill you.

F20 SS 1/200 Exp Bias -.67

Even at F20 I couldn't manage to get all of his legs in sharp focus and/or I needed a faster shutter speed.




And here he is running towards my face, looking as happy as can be... Unfortunately I didn't notice the distracting background but he sure is cute...

[jprzybyla]

Cool, beautiful color and sharpness for the parts not soft. My guess would be too slow a shutter speed. The aperture setting should have been enough, I use f16 for dragonflies and they are bigger I believe. I use 1000 or 1250 for any walking or moving bird, otherwise the parts that are moving are soft.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Joe. Good to know for future. I should've packed the critter in my suitcase for a future photo shoot. Alas I will have to find another equally photogenic spider, not an easy feat in Vancouver.

Cool, beautiful color and sharpness for the parts not soft. My guess would be too slow a shutter speed. The aperture setting should have been enough, I use f16 for dragonflies and they are bigger I believe. I use 1000 or 1250 for any walking or moving bird, otherwise the parts that are moving are soft.

[chauncey]

he is so cute

You do realize that they have medication for that difficulty.

[Brownbear]

Medication for folks who don't think spiders are cute? Look at his charming little face bursting with happiness

You do realize that they have medication for that difficulty.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Sergio M.]

Agreed, very well done.

Sergio

[flashback]

Christian,
Great shot(s) and the smile on his face in #2 is priceless (and correct pronoun too, it is a male.)

[Brownbear]

Thanks everyone. I do wish I had used a faster shutter speed but next time around for sure I will remember. And hopefully someone else will learn from my spider, too.

Jack, thanks for noticing his smile We had a thing for each other.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Christina,

He's real cute and very well shot ! You can be forgiven for the colour combination because you got his eyes spot on

You can clearly see from the DOF achieved on the surface he's walking on that this is the reason for his nearest and farthest legs being OOF, it really does not matter in the slightest.

Disappointing that there are no panning shots of him running along

Grahame

[FrankMi]

Very well done Christina! If you are up to a small challenge, you could experiment with the Color Replacement tool and change to blue to a muted tan or whatever color you feel would be more appropriate to show off your new friend.

[Saorsa]

The Green Lynx is an interesting spider. It lurks and attacks but leaves a strand of web behind as a anchor as it does so.

[Mike Buckley]

Wonderful photo, Christina. I agree that the out-of-focus areas do not matter.

Consider changing the background to a hue that is a bright yellow or something that will complement the rich blue tone and still allow the spider's legs to be evident.

[deetheturk]

Great image Christina,and what a beautiful little spider!

[Brownbear]

Thank you Grahame, Mike, David, and Sarosa and everyone for your comments and for appreciating how cute this little guy truly is.

Grahame, Ii think a panned image of number of these critters racing along would be magical. But first I need to fine tune those racing horses this summer. Thank you for sharing the DOF.

Frank and Mike... Thank you. I will give changing the colour a whirl and see if I can create photographic art out of a photo at my current PP skill level (still learning). I need a few days to figure this out but will post when done. (good or bad results)

[Brownbear]

Here is my attempt at changing the colour of the background... A first for me. I missed a few spots as painting around the hairs on the spiders legs was challenging.

I started by trying to change the blue noodle to a beige colour but something about all the reflections on the noodle just didn't work with any colour. So I changed the background colour to orange and I think this colour works very well. Indeed, I will be revisiting this image to try and do a better job of it.



Thank you Frank and Mike for teaching me something new.

[FrankMi]

Nice job! I have found that color changing doesn't always do what I expect as well. One day I'll get a bee in my bonnet and take the time to find out why and what I need to do to get the results I want in every situation.

[JBW]

I think I might have removed a few spots from the background I wish my camera would allow me F/20 with macro.

[Brownbear]

Frank... Thank you. I will try this again one day. Here is hoping that you get a bee in your bonnet because that blue noodle made for some very strange colours (I tried several different colours)

Brian... Thank you for pointing those out. Indeed I came back with a ton of dust spots on my sensor and I need to get my sensor cleaned. I did clean up a lot of the spots using the heal tool but I should've done a more through job. Some of the spots are also from the blurred cement background. I didn't do a good job of thinking the background through on this image.

Sending all my best wishes, luck and karma your way on the wings of an eagle... to ensure that you get that camera with a macro lens! Well deserved!

[Bobobird]

Lovely guy and well shot. I agree the soft parts do not matter.