Golden Homer Simpson - _TNY_7781S5
Here is in my opinion one of the prettiest spiders in Sweden - a Callilepis nocturna - and it took some effort to get a shot of it.
This started a couple of weeks ago when I was having coffee in the sun outside and noticed that one of the black ants running on the asphalt was a little larger and a lot faster than the others. Upon closer inspection I discovered it instead being a gorgeous little spider! I tried getting a photo of it, but it was too fast and much to my chagrin, it got away!
I was kicking myself for losing it, but read up on it and it turns out it likes hunting ants, typically on flat surfaces so they shouldn't be that uncommon on asphalt in the sun so I vowed to keep a close eye out for them.
A little while later, I was walking back from the grocery store and was a couple of hundred meters away from home when I spotted one on the road! Awesome - and I managed to corner it with my hand and all. These guys move in blisteringly quick rushes before waiting a little and then going for another rush so shooting it should be possible, though I would have to be reasonably quick about it.
So how do I get it home to the camera? I checked my pockets for some sort of bag or container, but couldn't find anything. Damn, there is no way I could get a spider this quick and small home using just my hands so I sat there on the road with my hand on the ground to herd the spider and keep it in place. What to do?
After a couple of fruitless attempts at containing it with a piece of candy wrapper I found in the ditch I tried a different solution: I have a pair of wireless headphones (Redmi Buds 3 Pro) which come with a charging case, like the Apple AirPods do. Well, I popped the buds in my ears and then somehow managed to trick the spider into the charging case using my shopping list as a makeshift ramp and snapped the case shut!
This is from when I got home and is a five exposure focus stack at 2.2:1 magnification.
Notice how the gold spots on the abdomen look like a face - it reminds me of some kind of voodoo doll but also Homer Simpson! Can anybody else see that resemblance?
For an even closer shot (3:1 mag), more from the side, please have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52128670998/i
Golden Homer Simpson - _TNY_7781S5
Here is in my opinion one of the prettiest spiders in Sweden - a Callilepis nocturna - and it took some effort to get a shot of it.
This started a couple of weeks ago when I was having coffee in the sun outside and noticed that one of the black ants running on the asphalt was a little larger and a lot faster than the others. Upon closer inspection I discovered it instead being a gorgeous little spider! I tried getting a photo of it, but it was too fast and much to my chagrin, it got away!
I was kicking myself for losing it, but read up on it and it turns out it likes hunting ants, typically on flat surfaces so they shouldn't be that uncommon on asphalt in the sun so I vowed to keep a close eye out for them.
A little while later, I was walking back from the grocery store and was a couple of hundred meters away from home when I spotted one on the road! Awesome - and I managed to corner it with my hand and all. These guys move in blisteringly quick rushes before waiting a little and then going for another rush so shooting it should be possible, though I would have to be reasonably quick about it.
So how do I get it home to the camera? I checked my pockets for some sort of bag or container, but couldn't find anything. Damn, there is no way I could get a spider this quick and small home using just my hands so I sat there on the road with my hand on the ground to herd the spider and keep it in place. What to do?
After a couple of fruitless attempts at containing it with a piece of candy wrapper I found in the ditch I tried a different solution: I have a pair of wireless headphones (Redmi Buds 3 Pro) which come with a charging case, like the Apple AirPods do. Well, I popped the buds in my ears and then somehow managed to trick the spider into the charging case using my shopping list as a makeshift ramp and snapped the case shut!
This is from when I got home and is a five exposure focus stack at 2.2:1 magnification.
Notice how the gold spots on the abdomen look like a face - it reminds me of some kind of voodoo doll but also Homer Simpson! Can anybody else see that resemblance?
For an even closer shot (3:1 mag), more from the side, please have a look here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52128670998/i