IMG_2019_04_26_JKDS
Cosmophasis thalassina, 6 mm in length.
Cosmophasis thalassina, 6 mm in length.
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May, 2019Views
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Drosera
May 18, 2019
I appreciate your compliment, he was a tiny spider and yet a great deal of work to photograph.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was captured amid my plant collection, where I set up a temporary studio to photograph arachnids and insects. I have studied this species for months and waited for a male to colour up while enticing a female of the species into his domain. So the opportunity arrived with this specimen, and many hours were spent capturing the correct, motionless position to show off the best colouration or beauty to quote NatureLoverJJWal.Time
The particular April day the photo was taken started as a beautiful sunny morning before the sky filled with clouds, which had created intense but defused lighting by midday. Just after noon, the arachnids were involved in their courting rituals, dancing around and wagging their abdomens from side to side. I had positioned myself with the camera on a tripod to capture the female arachnid poised on a branch, and then she just started staring straight back at me for a few seconds, so I seized the moment.Lighting
Although the midday light was from a heavily overcast sky, the natural lighting was still quite intense and created shadows. So I positioned three Canon 430EX III-RT speedlights, two as slave units placed amongst the plants on either side of the subject, and the master was mounted on the camera. Strong lighting enabled by using speedlights allowed the magnificent colouration of this species to stand out, and any shadowing would not have done justice to the subject.Equipment
The camera used for this photo was a Canon 200D with a Tamron SP AF60mm F/2 Di II LD [IF] MACRO 1:1 Model G005, mounted with one of three Canon 430EX III-RT speedlights used as a remote shutter button. The exposure setting used was 1/30 sec with an aperture of f/16 and a focal distance of 200 mm. The ISO was set at 100 with a manual white balance applied with settings provided by utilising a grey card shot taken with speedlights amongst my plant collection. The camera was mounted on a Vanguard Espod CX 204AP series tripod.Inspiration
I study in the field of natural sciences and find a great deal of pleasure in photographing some of the animal kingdoms most impressive creatures in tropical regions of northern Australia. Macro photography has enabled me to document my fascination with arachnids in north Queensland rainforests and capture different phases of these fantastic creatures lifecycles. My drive and passion for understanding and capturing the beauty of this arachnid was the inspiration behind this photograph. Every photo taken of a new species or life cycle phase allows the collection of a little bit more information, enabling a better understanding of this remarkable planet.Editing
I shoot all my images in Canon raw (Craw) and use Canons "Digital Photo Professional" (DPP) software once Canons EOS utility has transferred the photos to my computer. The only post-processing adjustment made to this image using Canons (DPP) was the light intensity. I was happy with everything else and completed processing with a heavy crop of dimensions reducing the resolution from 6000 x 4000 pixels to 1452 x 1036 pixels. Once the image became a JPEG, it was processed through Windows "Photos" application just before posting.In my camera bag
When this photo was taken, I used a Canon 200D, an excellent entry-level camera that increased my skill level substantially. Since taking this photograph, I have considerably improved my camera bag contents with a new Canon mirrorless camera and more macro lenses. My camera of choice at present is my Canon EOS RP combining either a Tamron 90mm Canon SP F2.8, LAOWA 25 mm F2.8 ULTRA MACRO LENS 2.5x5X-R mount, LAOWA 15mm Macro 1 to 1 Wide Angle Lens with Shift, Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS STM. I still regularly use the Tamron SP AF60mm F/2 Di II LD [IF] MACRO 1:1 Model G005, the lens used to take this photo. The Canon RP is used with a battery grip, and I carry four extra Canon LP_E17 batteries for longer trips. There may be four Canon 430EX III-RT speedlights in my camera bag at one time with twelve Eneloop pro, 1.2 V, 2450 mAh, high capacity rechargeable batteries for them. I carry two VILTROX DG-EOS R 12 and 24 mm extension tubes for the RF mount lenses and three Promaster for Canon EF/EFS 12, 20, and 36 mm Extension tubes for EF lenses. A smaller, lighter 160 mm FOTOFANS macro rail often accompanies my camera on field trips with either a NEEWER or VANGUARD tripod. The most significant advantage of the Canon EOS RP is carrying a SPEKTA, USB dual battery charger with a solar power bank to recharge LE-E17 batteries out in the field. The Canon EOS RP can also be charged directly from the power bank too. And the final additions to my camera bag are an assortment of quality cleaning cloths for lenses or camera, two different density brushes for lenses and transfer or charging cables for the camera.Feedback
A friend once noticed me photographing arachnids and said, 'yuck, I hate spiders'! I replied if you viewed this amazing creature through a macro lens, you might feel different. To this day, she is an enthusiastic macro photographer and no longer kills spiders in her house but instead rushes to get her camera to capture the creature in pixels. When she asked how could I improve my macro photography skills, 'I replied, practice, practice, and more practice'. It can often take many photos to get an image that is correctly focused when shooting macro 1 to 1 or less. With such a small depth of field in focus, there are two choices from the start; take lots of shots at a different depth of field and stack them together with software, or use the correct size lens for the subject. My rule with lenses is if the subject is tiny, for example, 5 mm, use ultra macro 25 or 30 mm lenses. If the subject is 1 cm, then use a 50 to 60 mm lens, and for subjects above 1 cm in size, use 60 to 100 mm macro lenses. There are always exceptions to the rule, and what works for one person may not work for another; only practice makes perfect.
