The Spider and the Fly

[barmstrong]

I almost did not post this one because to date I have posted nothing but bugs. I made a change from Fuji (Nikon based) to Canon for my youth sports photography so am a bit lens poor. The only lens I had for the Canon was the 70-200mm f2.8 and some extension tubes. Still, I could not resist this opportunity.

Canon 30D, 70-200mm + extension tubes, F16, 1/125, ISO 800, tripod mounted, natural light, not cropped.

Please feel free to modify and repost or offer suggestions.

[Photobiologist]

Cool shot! The almost solid yellow background of lantana offsets the green lynx spider & black house fly really well! You are doing great with these spider/prey combinations! Keep 'em coming. You did really well for that lens/extension tube combo.

[jckegley]

Wow, I love it!

You can even see hair detail in the flies legs. Nice color on both subjects. The bright yellow background (especially near the top) is a little distracting, but only just a little. Other than the bright background nothing comes to mind for improvement. Way cool photo.

[mrsisu]

In short love it. Looking forward to the spring and searching for shots like this. :)

[barmstrong]

Thanks for the comments guys. What concerned me most was there is not much contrast here. I tried playing with contrast in PS but didn't like what I came up with because the fly started to lose detail. Guess I could mask off the fly and try adjusting the rest of the photo. It was also becoming difficult to preserve the transparency in the spiders legs.

[rpk717]

Great shot Butch, love it. How many mm of extension tubes did you use? I have the 70-200 f/4 and would love to try some macro this summer. I've been using the 300 mm f/4 with 25 mm extension for dragonflys and flowers, and I'm real happy with the results.

[barmstrong]

Thanks, Robert. I can't remember for sure but typically I will use 36mm extension with the zoom for butterflies, dragonflies and flowers and the entire set for smaller insects and spiders. I then zoom for the desired magnification and composition.

[rpk717]

Thanks Butch, I assume you're using a tripod. Please don't tell me these have been hand-held. My life as I understand it would end!!!!!!

[barmstrong]

I am using a tripod on the spiders. On more active bugs I am hand-holding and using flash. These old hands are way to unsteady to work without the tripod!