JUMPING SPIDER MAR 7 10 (8)
nikon d3 with 24mm f2.8 analog used reversed with 50mm ext tube. The lighting is the thing. used an old mecablitz flash head diffused through milk bottle screen...
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nikon d3 with 24mm f2.8 analog used reversed with 50mm ext tube. The lighting is the thing. used an old mecablitz flash head diffused through milk bottle screen and 4 layers of tracing paper.
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Jul, 2016Views
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Awards
Winner in Spider Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Superior Skill
Absolute Masterpiece
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Genius
Virtuoso
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Behind The Lens
Location
I found this little South African jumping spider (Salticidae) on a dog rose outside our front door.Time
We live in a wilderness area and use no pesticides in the garden. In summer it fills with a profusion of invertebrates and these little hunters patrol blossoms , predating on pollinators and other small insects. Long summer days are a hive of constant coming and going of insects around whatever is in blossom.Lighting
I use an ancient metz-mecablitz with homemade diffusers and light shapers. The flash is about 40 years old and its housing is held together with ductape and prayer, but the the capacitor still charges and the tube still fires. The trick with macro is to create a narrow beam of highly diffuse light. Contrast, flare etc are all accentuated in macro I have to take particular care because I'm shooting these ultra macros on an old 24mm f2.8 Nikkor analog, and that exposed rear element is almost fish-eye convex. it picks up stray light from anywhere.Equipment
Nikon D3 plus Nikkor 24mm f2.8 analog used in reverse via BR2 ring + M2 extension tube for a magnification of more that 6X.Inspiration
I use a home made specimen tank built from perspex, with front and rear optically pure glass panels. I collect the insect together with some of the habitat it was found it. This is transfered to the bugbox to recreate the environment. i take the shots, on a table in situ and then return the subjects to the parent plant, or environment where it was collected.Editing
very little pp beyond my standard workflow, which includes a touch of sharpening on the resized jpeg.In my camera bag
I use a pair of old D3 Nikons, and for macro work I carry an old Nikkor 55mm f3.5 macro (analog), Nikkor 24mm f2.8 analog reversed via BR2 ring, plus a range of extension tubes and an archaic Nikkor bellows III. For light, I make do with an ancient Metz mecablitz I bought in 1979. Lots of spare penlite batteries, duct ape, foil, my Bug box, and a small aquarium net for collecting.Feedback
I try to keep macro compositions simple and uncluttered. With paper thin depths of field, it is vital to pull a focus on the eyes. Even if everything else is unsharp, crisp eyes will shift the dynamic tension in the image onto the point of focus. Aside from the camera's and the bug box which I built sometime around 1989, all my macro kit dates from the seventies and underlines the value in acquiring only top range glass. Those 40+ year old lenses perform pretty well compared to the latest state-of-art editions.
