Small male spider - Lepthyphantes

Moved

Moved from Spiders.

… John Sloan, 21 June, 2012 - 3:38am

spider in a jar

I take most of my shots with the spider in the bottom of a plastic picnic cooler. The white interior makes a nice background and also bounces the flash around to diffuse the light a bit. The walls meet each other and the floor with a curve, so there isn't much of a corner for the bug to hide in. Results tend to look like this...

… John R. Maxwell, 4 March, 2012 - 2:13pm

Yes, or a white bowl (althoug

Yes, or a white bowl (although reflections can sometimes be a problem). A clear dorsal view of the mature male would be nice.

-K

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 4 March, 2012 - 2:52pm

confined space, photo

I have had success with Watchmaker's cases from Lee Valley. Cut a tight fitting paper disc for the bottom to reduce glare, use a reclining chair for ventral image with spider standing on glass.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=44948&cat=1,43326,44948

… Steve McKechnie, 5 March, 2012 - 8:15am

Bowl

I shot this series in a soup bowl while on vacation. I suppose a large mixing bowl would work even better.

There was a shot period where I tried to use my bathtub (big white interior, smooth curves), but the bottom of the tub has a non-slip surface and the camera loved to auto-focus on the grooving rather than the bug.

… John R. Maxwell, 4 March, 2012 - 6:10pm

Lighting

Thank you both for sharing. I'll add a round bottom bowl to my bush kit this season.
To grow the spider, I'm growing bird seed in a cut off pill bottle surrounded by sand, gravel and dry spruce branches.
We can frass these now or wait until I take his house apart next month.

… Steve McKechnie, 4 March, 2012 - 7:48pm