Giant spider web

October 23, 2012 by Mike Powell

I was really happy when I came across this large dew-covered spider web early one morning this past weekend. I am not sure exactly how big it was, but I think it was probably about 18-24 inches across, with an amazing number of rows, especially at the bottom part that is fully intact.

I processed the same photo in two ways to get different looks. In the first photo, I desaturated most of the color to try to draw attention to the strands of the web (and you should click on the photo to get a somewhat higher resolution view of the web). In the second photo, I tried to punch up the colors a bit by increasing the vibrance and saturation settings.

Which one do you think works best?

Spider web (mostly desaturated)

Spider web (increased vibrance)

Posted in Art, Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography | Tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, dew, early morning, Huntley Meadows Park, spider, spider web | 18 Comments

18 Responses

on October 23, 2012 at 9:47 pm | Reply pnicholl

I vote for the second image …. beautiful!!
- on October 24, 2012 at 4:58 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for your input. I keep going back and forth about which one I like best.
on October 23, 2012 at 10:17 pm | Reply Photographer Ravi

You have demonsrated that a raw image can be transofrmed into different perspectives – looks great
- on October 24, 2012 at 5:00 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. One of the real joys of photography is the chance to be creative, both in taking photographs and in processing them.
on October 24, 2012 at 12:56 am | Reply lylekrahn

Sometimes there’s no easy answer which way to go in processing. I struggle with that too. By the way that web looks big enough to catch a dog.
- on October 24, 2012 at 5:03 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Catch a dog? If that’s the case, maybe I’m glad that the spider was already gone by the time I arrived! When it comes to processing, usually I just make a choice and move on, but sometimes it’s fun and interesting to try out a couple of different approaches and save the results and then compare them. Either way, there’s no easy answer (to quote you).
on October 24, 2012 at 5:54 am | Reply New Hampshire Gardener

I like the second photo because it looks more like what I’d expect to see in the field.
- on October 24, 2012 at 6:23 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  It is much closer to what was present in nature. The reason I tried the other approach was I was afraid that folks would not be able to see the details of the web. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.
on October 24, 2012 at 7:41 am | Reply Steve Schwartzman

Did you perhaps try a version in which you desaturated the color but also brightened the image and increased its contrast?

Lucky you to find such a detailed web. Wish I could’ve been there with you to play with it.
- on October 24, 2012 at 8:11 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for the ideas, Steve. I think I had the contrast really cranked up for the desaturated version, but I’ll try playing with it some more and see what I get. I have some shots of some other webs too that I may get around to posting that are not quite as intricate, but are still pretty amazing.
on October 24, 2012 at 7:00 pm | Reply Stephanie

The second for me. Love the rich colors
- on October 24, 2012 at 7:20 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  It seems like the majority of the folks are with you, Stephanie. Thanks for providing your views.
on October 24, 2012 at 8:34 pm | Reply rontuaru

I’m with Steve here; I would probably have desaturated, but then brought in a little fill light and bumped up the clarity. (Lightroom) But there’s no “wrong” version here …. just whatever trips your trigger at the moment! Nice job … as I think you know, I especially love finding great webs! This one was spectacular!
- on October 24, 2012 at 8:51 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for the advice. You guys are more expert in this than I am (and certainly have more experience). At the moment I am doing my adjustments in Photoshop Elements 9, though I plan to move to Lightroom soon. There are more webs to come, so stay tuned (though none is quite as spectacular in size as that one).
on October 25, 2012 at 1:09 am | Reply Mary Strong-Spaid

Definitely love the second one. Just my personal preference. The first one looks like a spider web at night…and…ummm…I don’t like running into spider webs at night. It’s something that I don’t like to “not see” when I am walking. I think spider webs are beautifully intricate, but I really don’t like wearing them. 🙂
- on October 25, 2012 at 5:07 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for your thoughts, Mary. I definitely understand what you mean about walking into spider webs–it happens to me occasionally in the early morning (and the sensation on the skin, especially, is not that pleasant).
on October 25, 2012 at 10:43 pm | Reply krikitarts

I’d like to see one somewhere in between, about 1/3 to 1/4 less saturated than the second image. Also, though it’s a beautiful web, I find the upper-left part, with the branches, a bit more arresting than the lower-right part, so I’d consider a tighiter crop. Good stuff, Mike!
- on October 26, 2012 at 12:20 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks for the advice. I tried to apply some of it to the web photo that I posted a little while ago. It’s sort of in between the previous two in terms of color and saturation.