As I was reaching down one recent morning to pick up my newspaper from the small concrete stoop of my townhouse, I happened to look up and saw a beautiful spider web reflected in the early morning sun. In the center of the web was a small, fuzzy brown spider with what appeared to be short legs.
The spider was positioned in such a way that I could use my macro lens to get some close-up shots, but he was too high in the air for me to use a tripod or to brace my arms for optimal steadiness. I also did not have a choice of too many angles, because the spider was suspended over a large bush that impeded my access. I took a lot of photos, many of which came out really out of focus.
Here are my favorite shots, two of which show the underside of the spider and two show a side view. I really like the markings and texture of this little spider, though I am not at all sure what kind he is. The unidentified spider is living proof, however, that the most interesting things are sometimes literally just outside our front door—all we have to do is open our eyes as we open the door.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great pictures Mike! but that’s one scary-looking spider!! brrr 😉
Ah, yes. I forgot that you don’t like spiders. Sometimes I photograph them with my telephoto, but this one was up close with my macro (and I find this spider to be more cute than scarey).
True enough-I often find the most interesting things in my own yard. I don’t think I’ve seen that spider though.
I’m scratching my head trying to figure it out. Unfortunately I didn’t get a shot of the front part of the spider because I would have been shooting directly into sunlight.
These are very interesting photos to look at, that’s for sure. But I have walked out of my front door and right into spiders like this (who set up house over night) and ….shudder…I really don’t like it when spiders caught in my hair. Auuuuugh. So many legs.
I can understand how you feel. There is a definite icky sensation when you feel a spider web on your bare skin. As for the spiders, they are mostly harmless (and my hair is so short they never get caught in my hair). The only words of advice that I can give you are the ones that I try to follow when taking photos, “Keep your eyes open.”