Monday, December 19, 2011

on Spider Sunday

One reason why I love macro: I can find subjects wherever there are plants.

Last Sunday, after our annual reunion, I decided to go looking for new subjects to shoot. And I was lucky when I found four different arachnids in a hedge in front of our ancestral home. I didn't waste the opportunity to add to my growing collection of Jumping Spiders and Orb Weavers. And it was a good test for my new gear.

I found an orb weaver spinning its web at dusk and I waited until it finished as I could not track its movement as it made the web from the middle outwards. After it finished, the weaver left the web and rested on an orchid root and that's when I got this photo.


orb weaver resting

I call this Jumping spider a ghost as it has semi transparent legs which blend into the leaves. I was lucky to spot it moving from one leaf to another but it was hard to take a photo as it seemed to be aware of my presence and reacted every time I pointed the camera at it. I took the photo of it on the underside of a leaf.

ghost jumping spider

This next Jumping Spider is quite small and was nicely camouflaged in the tree bark. It is about five millimeters and is quite hard to spot. What I like about this one is that it has blue legs and bronze hair.

blue legged jumping spider

For the last photo, I found this on an orchid. Among all the Jumping Spiders I have seen, this is quite unique because it is the only one I have observed to have some sort of a web where it lies and waits. It didn't move a leg when I was shooting as if it wanted to simply hide in plain sight.

orchid jumping spider

I hope someone identifies these arachnids for me. I really wish to learn more about them and I am hoping I would find more of them the next time I visit.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

On Sharpness, Composition and Portrait #25

Sharpness and resolution don't matter when there isn't subject and composition -- Kai Wong (DigitalRev TV)

There are times when the photo you like the most in a set is the one that is out of focus, blurred or over/under exposed.

I came in late for a photo shoot. I was drenched in the rain and had a long day in the office. It was on a Monday and people know how much I hate Mondays. But we had Janelle, who I always wanted to shoot, as the model and I didn't want to waste such an opportunity. So I had to make the best of the little time I had (since I came in on the last set) and the smallish makeshift studio setup. I only had my legacy Tamron 90mm f2.5 macro lens with me so all I could do were half body shots and close up portraits. I'm glad I still had some good shots of her.

 
portrait 25 (1 of 1)


And for the photo I'd add to my 100 portraits, it isn't that sharp due to the motion blur but I like it anyways. It is still a good shot for me. It is a unique addition since this is the first action/in motion shot I'll add to my project.

Portrait #25: Janelle
b&w portraits (2 of 2)