I'm no expert, but he looked deadly to me!

[SandeeWig]

Went out to see if I might capture a few birds over my lunch hour at the office bird feeder, but found this big guy instead.


He had a massive web spun, and was apparently waiting for the catch of the day...


Despite my efforts to get him to turn his back on me, he just wouldn't do it. So, I tried to respect that, and just let him be ...y'know...for his sake.


Oy...gives me the heebie jeebies! Thanks for looking!

[beachcomber]

I'm no expert, but he looked deadly to me!

Me too, you capture the spiders menace like a skilled practitioner and I am both fascinated and uncomfortable in equal measure, good job SandeeWig

[Jamfke]

*quivers*

I like spiders as much as I like snakes...

If you know how much I hate snakes, then you know how much I hate spiders!

Regardless, these are excellent captures of this very deadly looking critter. Looks a lot like a black widow in shape. Great job!

[equilution]

I love the second one...while the DOF is shallow, you can still get a sense of how large the web is in the foreground, as well as the background. Well done!

[kurtwall]

Great pictures of a scary looking spider.

For some reason, when I saw these, I remembered this snippet from that great 1970s kitsch song, Spiders and Snakes by Jim Stafford:

I don't like spiders and snake
But that ain't what it takes to love me...
Like I want to be loved by you

[atulsc]

Hey nice catch sandee...

[Dogtaggart]

oooh gives me the shivers too, like he could just jump right out of the monitor - I would have had too much camera shake if I'd tried to take those shots - well done Sandee!!

[sHIMUZUKi]

nice shot.good composition.

[CaptainNH]

Originally Posted by equilution

I love the second one...while the DOF is shallow, you can still get a sense of how large the web is in the foreground, as well as the background. Well done!

I agree, I love the DoF in the second image. The Orb Weavers will be out in my garden soon, as the weather is warming up, time for me to try some shots myself.

[SandeeWig]

Originally Posted by beachcomber

I'm no expert, but he looked deadly to me!

Me too, you capture the spiders menace like a skilled practitioner and I am both fascinated and uncomfortable in equal measure, good job SandeeWig

Thank you, Beach. As big as it was, it startled me a bit as I walked around the corner. He was in the very spot I was going to perch myself and wait for birds! Glad I looked first. hehe.

Originally Posted by Jamfke

*quivers*

I like spiders as much as I like snakes...

If you know how much I hate snakes, then you know how much I hate spiders!

Regardless, these are excellent captures of this very deadly looking critter. Looks a lot like a black widow in shape. Great job!

Thanks for your comments Jamfke. I actually love snakes (at least those of the non-poisonous variety), and spiders, well, one doesn't make me nervous, but if there were a swarm (herd? school? ) of them, that'd be a different story!

Originally Posted by equilution

I love the second one...while the DOF is shallow, you can still get a sense of how large the web is in the foreground, as well as the background. Well done!

Thanks so much, equilution. That's probably my favorite too. I was trying to get him at a different angle, but his web was about 6 inches away from a building, so I could not get any more than a profile of him.

Originally Posted by kurtwall

Great pictures of a scary looking spider.

For some reason, when I saw these, I remembered this snippet from that great 1970s kitsch song, Spiders and Snakes by Jim Stafford:

I don't like spiders and snake
But that ain't what it takes to love me...
Like I want to be loved by you

Thank you, kurt. Appreciate your comments and the quote. Will have to look up that tune, I'm more of an 80's gal.

Originally Posted by atulsc

Hey nice catch sandee...

Thanks atulsc!!

Originally Posted by Dogtaggart

oooh gives me the shivers too, like he could just jump right out of the monitor - I would have had too much camera shake if I'd tried to take those shots - well done Sandee!!

Thank you Dogtaggart. Fortunately, my lens wouldn't let me get very close to him, though I did poke him a time or two with a leaf trying to get him to turn around. He wasn't having it.

After looking it up online, I've found that this yellow/black creature is essentially a garden spider and quite harmless (though his coloring screams otherwise). This is the time of year they lay eggs and basically die shortly thereafter. They have quite a short life span. Now I feel bad for poking it.

Originally Posted by sHIMUZUKi

nice shot.good composition.

Appreciate it sHIMUZUKi.

Originally Posted by CaptainNH

I agree, I love the DoF in the second image. The Orb Weavers will be out in my garden soon, as the weather is warming up, time for me to try some shots myself.

Thanks for your comments, CaptainNH. I'll keep my eye out for yours as well.