Face to face with a spider

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Face to face with a spider

September 11, 2015 by Mike Powell

I first caught sight of this spider yesterday when I almost walked into it—it was hanging in mid-air at eye level across a path and we were less than a foot apart when I encountered it.

Initially the spider scampered up a bit and then seemed to run out of web and came to a stop, giving me some time to change to my macro lens. The spider, which I think is a kind of orb weaver (Neoscona crucifera) that is sometimes called a barn spider, was about seven feet off the ground by this time, so it was quite a challenge getting a stable shooting position. I raised the ISO and used the pop-up flash and managed to get some reasonably sharp images.

These are my favorite two images. I really like the detail in the first shot, but like the background and angle of view more in the second shot. Which one is better? I vacillate in trying to decide, so included them both.

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Lattice Orbweaver spider, Neoscona crucifera, orb weaver spider, Tamron 180mm macro lens | 12 Comments

12 Responses

on September 11, 2015 at 7:58 am | Reply Dan Antion

Yikes!
on September 11, 2015 at 12:08 pm | Reply waltersanford

You say “face to face,” although I don’t recognize anything that looks like a face even though I know it’s facing forward, no pun intended.
- on September 11, 2015 at 1:18 pm | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Ah, Walter, you need to have a little imagination. If you squint a little, the two white spots look like eyes and one of the striped legs looks like a mouth. 🙂
on September 11, 2015 at 2:04 pm | Reply Charlie@Seattle Trekker

That is one nasty looking dude…Love the shot, the detail is really amazing.
- on September 12, 2015 at 5:18 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Charlie. Normally spiders are in vegetation, which makes them hard to focus on. The fact that this one was hanging in the air made it a little easier to capture details.
on September 12, 2015 at 8:43 am | Reply New Hampshire Garden Solutions

These show some great details. Amazing how they can scrunch up into a little ball like that.
- on September 12, 2015 at 9:16 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks, Allen. He sure looked bigger when he was more extended, but I figured this was a kind of defensive position. As you can probably tell, the side facing us is its ventral side, a side that I normally don’t get to see.
on September 12, 2015 at 11:01 am | Reply Carol Dunnigan

I agree – can’t decide. I also love the close-up’s, but it’s nice to pull back too. 🙂
on September 12, 2015 at 3:09 pm | Reply gaiainaction

Real cool Mike, yes it is the time for spiders to come out isn’t it.
- on September 14, 2015 at 3:44 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Thanks. I do hope that it is the time to see more spiders–the summer pickings have been kind of slim.
on September 13, 2015 at 12:05 am | Reply krikitarts

Better? It’s not a competition. Both are well worthy of inclusion and contemplation. We have several Neoscona members out our way too, and I welcome all encounters with them.
- on September 13, 2015 at 5:56 am | Reply Mike Powell
  
  Sage advice, Gary. Thanks.