Capturing Spiders and Lenses

January 23, 2009 by Lee Hammaker

One of the main reasons I purchased the Macro filter lenses is so I could take close-up pictures of things like insects. I love insects and arachnids. I was at work one day picking up some boxes off a skid when I noticed some movement. I looked closer and saw a large jumping spider; it was as big as my thumbnail.

When I was done filling up a shelf with boxes I found a small plastic container and found the spider again. I managed to place him in the container and punched some holes on the top for him to breath. I use these large plastic carts to transport boxes around the factory, one such cart has a 6 inch rim all the around the edge to keep items from falling off. I placed the container inside the cart and opened the lid so he wouldn’t feel too confined.

I watched him as he crawled out of the plastic container and explore the cart, when I knew he couldn’t jump over the cart’s rim I went about my job.

Before I purchased my Nikon D60 I bought several books on various digital camera subjects including photographing wildlife. The part that stood out in my mind after reading the book was to learn not to do any harm to wildlife you are photographing. Near the end of the shift I went back to the cart I had placed in a certain spot so no one would touch it so I could retrieve the spider and take him home to photograph. I couldn’t find the cart or the container after a quick search I was unable to find the cart and I had to go home. It was a Friday and all weekend long I thought about the spider and wondered who had taken the cart.

When I retuned to work that Sunday night I looked for the cart again and found it right where I had left it. The spider however was dead, and I was annoyed with myself for having killed a lowly spider for my own amusement even though someone else had taken the cart initially.

Months later I was moving some boxes again and spotted another jumping spider, this time it had black and white stripes and was much smaller, only the size of my pinky nail. I ran back to a storage area and took another plastic container and placed the little spider in punching holes in the top of the container for him to breathe. You’d think I’d learn my lesson and leave him be but I placed the container near my computer terminal that I use for my job. At the end of the shift I carefully took the container with me noticing the spider was still alive. I was happy that I didn’t kill it and when I got home I placed him in a much larger clear plastic container and placed a cardboard lid over it. I went about my regular business and when I was done I came back home to check up on him. He was still alive and sleeping. I let him alone until the next night. I did this because I can control the lighting in my apartment better when it’s dark out.

I had purchased a light box from Ebay sometime ago but the only thing I wanted were the small spotlights that came with the box. I had turned on the lights in the room that I converted to a small photo studio and placed one spotlight close to the container, shinning the light directly on my subject. I maneuvered the camera mounted on a tabletop tripod directly over the container, I was now ready to get some great pictures.

With all this activity the spider had woke up and was trying desperately to get out. I took several pictures of him from above and behind but wanted some from the front. I took the camera off the tripod and started to position myself in front of him, but he was too energetic and wouldn’t slow down.

After a time a small gnat flew in the container and placed himself on the opposite side of the clear wall right in front of the bright light of the spotlight. The jumping spider noticed this and stopped behind him. For what seamed hours the jumping spider stared at the gnat and waited. I too waited not wanting to disturb either animal. I did try to take several pictures of this but only got blurry photos.

For just a second I glanced away checking the settings on my camera, when I looked at the scene again the little jumping spider had pounced on the gnat and was feeding. I managed to get up and close with the macro filter and take some pictures all the while the spider had the gnat in his jaws.

During my photo shoot I wound up scaring the little fellow. I tried different settings and even tried the flash. Well, he didn’t like the flash. When it went off he literally jumped in surprise. It was at that time I decided to stop and release him back into the wild. I took the whole container and went outside my kitchen porch. It was cold the night before and even though the sun was now coming up it was still a bit chilly out.

I tilted the container over carefully and watched as he quickly made his way out. I said a silent thank you for your time as he made his way along the wooden banister and into a thatch of grass. I don’t know if he made it, it was around September and cold outside, but I did appreciate what he did for me.