Spider

[psi4evaa]

Hi All,
I took this one this arvo. It was the best one in a series. For the F/9.5 I would have thought alot more hairs on the legs would have been in focus. The focal point was set as the "head". The lens used was a Sigma DG 70mm-300mm 1:4-5.6

Cheers

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/psitography/2254752982/" title="Spider by PSi4EVA, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2118/2254752982_bd551fe4b8.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Spider" /></a>

Camera: Pentax K100D Super
Exposure: 0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture: f/9.5
Focal Length: 190 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/10 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

[clockdoc]

Nice work! The color of the legs really makes it stand out from its web. Was it shot on a tripod?

[RussHeath]

Beautiful shot. I agree that a little more DOF would be good, but I would be very happy with this one. You could try selectively sharpening the parts that are catching your eye, like the legs.

I think the glow from the backlighting is really what makes it pop. As Clockdoc asked, I'm wondering if you used a tripod. 1/45 for a 190mm focal length seems difficult for handheld.

[psi4evaa]

Hi All,
I did the shot handheld lying on my back with the spider web dangling above me. I'll give the sharpening a shot and I'll let you know how I go.

[RussHeath]

Hi All,
I did the shot handheld lying on my back with the spider web dangling above me. I'll give the sharpening a shot and I'll let you know how I go.

:eek: You're quite brave! I'd love to see how the edits turn out.

[mrodgers]

Hi All,
I did the shot handheld lying on my back with the spider web dangling above me. I'll give the sharpening a shot and I'll let you know how I go.
Well then, fantasic shot, because there is no possible way I could have gotten a shot like this. Absolutely no possible way, LOL.

I'm a 35 year old father of 2 girls. But when there are spiders involved, I turn into a screaming little girl myself and have to scream out to the wife, LOL.

[Saralonde]

I love the backlight, but I'd like to see a bit more space by some of the legs that are touching the edge of the shot. Of course with you on your back and the spider dangling above you it's amazing you got the shot off at all!

[windrider86]

You are a brave soul indeed. I would be too petrified to even close to this guy.
The lighting on this makes the picture!
I do have to agree with Saralonde about the legs being too close to the edge. But otherwise superbly executed!

[psi4evaa]

Thanks for your comments, regarding the shutter speed, on the K100D it has a Shake Reduction function, which works very well. Can't go alot slower then that though without blur. I'll have to get back to you in a few days about the sharpening as I'm out in the field using my mobile for a net connection, and its soooooo slow, under 14.4kbs

Cheers

[geotography]

Nice shot. Yes, and you have nerves of steel. I don't really care much for spiders but I like this shot. I doubt I would have layed beneath it. Looks like the discards from a previous lunch behind him.

[psi4evaa]

You could try selectively sharpening the parts that are catching your eye, like the legs.


With regards to selectively sharpening, are you referring to the "Sharpen Tool" on the CS3 Tools palette? I tend to use the Unsharp Mask filter applied to the whole image. Would you mind explaining your process for selective sharpening.

Cheers

[RussHeath]

I have CS2, and I don't have a sharpen tool that I know of (it may be there, I just don't use it). For selective sharpening, I use a couple of different methods. For maximum control, use a layer mask that gives you precise control over only the portions you are interested in. This lets you use the unsharp mask selectively on parts of the layer that are not masked out. If you've never used masks before and are scratching your head a little, I highly recommend learning about them (some good threads here somewhere, just do a search), as they are one of the most powerful features in PS.

For a simpler method, just use the magnetic lasso to highlight the sections you want to sharpen. If you hold down shift you can highlight muliple little sections (like each individual leg). Then feather the selection by a few pixels and apply the unsharp mask. That will sharpen only the selection. Sounds very time consuming at first, but I can usually do all the above to an average picture in about 10 minutes these days (but it was more like an hour the first couple times). If I'm not making sense just let me know. I feel like I'm rambling a little . . . :rolleyes:

[Geodar]

You have to remeber that the lens you used is a 1:2 macro, where as a dedicated macro lens is 1:1. Using a dedicated macro lens would have highlighted the hairs on the legs more.
This is an excellent shot, good focus throughout with good DOF to blur the background. Good lighting, colour and sharp where it matters.
Regards
Geoff

[psi4evaa]

You have to remeber that the lens you used is a 1:2 macro, where as a dedicated macro lens is 1:1. Using a dedicated macro lens would have highlighted the hairs on the legs more.
This is an excellent shot, good focus throughout with good DOF to blur the background. Good lighting, colour and sharp where it matters.
Regards
Geoff

@RussHeath
Thanks for the tips, I played around with it a bit but I dont seem to be able to take it much further then it already is. It did clean it up a bit, I think I may have applied it too strongly which did introduce some noise.

@Geodar
Thankyou for the comments, I'm so keen to try a shot like that again, only this time I'll be using the Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro which arrived in the mail today :) I just did a few quick test shots and I'm really impressed with it.

Cheers

20-2-08
I just finished the picture, I used a layer mask with 2x Unsharp Mask smart filters with 0.3 pixels radius at 150%. I think it looks a little better, I must say I am happy with either edit anyway.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/psitography/2278382197/" title="Spider - resharpened by PSi4EVA, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2405/2278382197_aa7398ef1d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Spider - resharpened" /></a>

Camera: Pentax K100D Super
Exposure: 0.022 sec (1/45)
Aperture: f/9.5
Focal Length: 190 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0/10 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire