Backlit Spider

[Round Tuit]

This critter spun its web between my cedar hedge and the gate to my backyard last week. I have taken several shots at him over the past few days and none turned out very good until I discovered that, for about 15 minutes around four o'clock PM, the sun shines through a gap between my neighbour's house and his shed and lights the web on fire. The blue background is a plastic toboggan hanging on the wall of my neighbour's shed.
This shot was taken using my EF-S 55-250mm at 250mm from a distance of approximately 30 inches(the minimum focusing distance for the lens). I used my speedlite with a Gary Fong lightsphere to provide fill in light. The biggest challenge was the wind which kept moving the web in and out of focus.
Is this any good and how could it be improved?




Andre

P.S. This is an uncropped photo.

[Ziggy]

I like it, nice capture.

[Shadowman]

Looks like you got a lot of light on this side of the spider. Nicely captured.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Andre,

That's not bad.
I assume you shot several, perhaps in burst mode - and selected the best compromise for subject focus and web sharpness?
(If not, there's a suggestion)

I couldn't see any useful EXIF data which revealed what aperture you used, obviously a narrower one will give more Depth of Field; e.g. f/11 or f/16.

Have a look at my four attempts in this gallery, it may give you some ideas.

Probably the best idea is to try to find, perhaps another spider, which you can shoot from 'above', like a couple of mine are, but you'll note my first attempt was also from below (and I think yours is better).

Good luck, plenty around at this time of year (well here in UK anyway) - at least until the frosts start.

Cheers, Dave

[bnnrcn]

I like it very much

[IzzieK]

Me too, Andre...how can you improved an already good image without ruining it...I love it as it is...

[Chri5]

I agree with what everyone has already stated. The shot is fine and there is no need for improvement Im a little anoyed at the spider though for spinning a messy web

[Chri5]

P.S. Just something to try for the next time you shoot this web is if you get a spray bottle and fill it with water, then spray some water on the web, the spider wont mind and it will add a new dynamic to the shot

[Round Tuit]

Hi Andre,

That's not bad.
I assume you shot several, perhaps in burst mode - and selected the best compromise for subject focus and web sharpness?
(If not, there's a suggestion)

I couldn't see any useful EXIF data which revealed what aperture you used, obviously a narrower one will give more Depth of Field; e.g. f/11 or f/16.

Have a look at my four attempts in this gallery, it may give you some ideas.

Probably the best idea is to try to find, perhaps another spider, which you can shoot from 'above', like a couple of mine are, but you'll note my first attempt was also from below (and I think yours is better).

Good luck, plenty around at this time of year (well here in UK anyway) - at least until the frosts start.

Cheers, Dave

Dave,

I lost the EXIF when I exported from Lightroom! I'll make sure to fix that before my next post. I ended up using ISO 100, f/9.0, 1/60 sec and fl 250 mm. I also used fill-in flash with +1 ev compensation.
I took around 40 shots in four sessions over a period of three days before finally getting this one. I won't go through all the iterations that it took but what started as a casual attempt to see if I could get a decent shot of the spider without a macro lens turned out to be quite a challenge for me. The biggest problem was working at the minimum focusing distance of my lens with the web constantly moving in the wind. It was also difficult to find the balance between a small enough aperture for DOF and fast enough shutter speed for freezing motion.
Thank you for your suggestions and your encouraging comments.

Andre

P.S. I also learned that using a tripod is not always the solution for blurry pictures!

[Round Tuit]

Thank you Jim, John, Binnur, Izzie and Chris for your encouraging comments.

John - It took that much light to be able to see its belly!

Izzie - It takes wisdom to know when to stop. Someday I might get it.

Chris - This spider has been very cooperative in many ways. I'll pardon its sloppy spinning job. I tried the water trick for one of my many sessions. You are right that it add a nice artistic touch to an otherwise very technical shot.

Andre

[Stagecoach]

Andre,

A very good result for a difficult subject and your use of fill light has given ample detail of the spiders underside.

I had a quick play with it and found one option available is to globally darken the image then selectively lighten the body area, gives it a bit more punch and makes that great web stand out a bit more.

The DoF on this is also very well balanced.

[Round Tuit]

Andre,

A very good result for a difficult subject and your use of fill light has given ample detail of the spiders underside.

I had a quick play with it and found one option available is to globally darken the image then selectively lighten the body area, gives it a bit more punch and makes that great web stand out a bit more.

The DoF on this is also very well balanced.

Thank you Grahame. I will explore that option.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Here is a dorsal view of the same spider for Dave. I must have learned from taking the ventral view as this one only took two shots!
I also just noticed that the spider is missing a leg.



Andre