World Photography Day

[Iggy]

Today is World Photography Day!
https://www.worldphotographyday.com/world-photography-day-photos.html
Not sure yet what I will do photographically today!

[Iggy]

Apart from updating my Shot of the Week http://forums.croydoncameraclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3137,
I sorted out some images and sent them for printing for the coming CCC Competitions in September 2019.
Now using SIM that has superseded ProAm which went out of business.
Sent images at 2 pm today and will definitely have them back tomorrow. Cost less than £1 each for 12x9 inch prints that includes postage.
https://www.simlab.co.uk/professional-photo-printing-services

[Mike Farley]

I have been meaning to photograph this bloom for a while to see how it looks when I apply my infrared technique. I present "The Wrong Sunflower".

The Wrong Sunflower

The Wrong Sunflower.jpg (85.41 KiB) Viewed 3151 times

[Iggy]

Hello Mike,
Thank you for posting your IR sunflower that forced me into our garden just now.
Still a little bit of setting sun but all the butterflies and huge hover flies on the buddleia bushes have gone.
Spotted a 1 cm spider on a single strand of silk just starting to build its web, possibly.
Decided to give it a go with my trusty Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 (24-400 mm fixed lens).
I was surprised by the result taken at f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO-640, @ 66 mm
Luckily the wind had dropped.
On closer examination, I am just wondering if the spider is feasting on a tiny fly as there appears to be a wing visible!!

[Mike Farley]

On closer examination, I am just wondering if the spider is feasting on a tiny fly as there appears to be a wing visible!!

I think I can see it. More troubling for me is that the spider seems to be hanging upside down from its thread.

[Iggy]

The spider is head up on its thread. Larger part is the abdomen with two false eyes!
I managed to get just two shots off before the spider scrambled up to its leafy cover.
Just went to check - spider still behind the leaf but has built a really skinny web on each side of the original thread.

Does anyone else wants to share an image that they have shot today?

[Mike Farley]

The thread is at the bottom, so the whole image appears to be upside down. Or do you have gravity defying spiders in your garden?

[Iggy]

Hi Mike,
I see the reason for your question.
The thread actually ran from the grass on the bottom to some leaves on a bush on top.
When building a web, spiders always connect each strand of the main web framework to fixed points.
In this case, the thread at the bottom was thicker and easier to see, while that above was finer and almost impossible to see.
However, it was strong enough to carry the spider's weight as I saw it run up.
I will check tomorrow morning to see if my spider has spun a full web and if I can get another image with the spider on its web.
Might spray some water on the web to help visualise it better if I can.
Good night,
Iggy

[Mike Farley]

Looking at the image closely indicates that the detail on the spider is indistinct and there is a fair amount of noise. Both suggest that you needed a substantial crop to achieve the shot and would explain why the thread above the spider is not visible. Since you seem to use the FZ1000 quite frequently for this type of work, you might find that an inexpensive close-up lens will help you get better results. If you already have a filter on the lens, removing it will help avoid vignetting and improve quality by reducing the number of elemsnts through which the light passes.

[Iggy]

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the suggestions.
Spider image was shot hand held at 66mm which is probably around 200mm equivalent.

The spider did build a bigger web overnight but that is even more delicate & difficult to see because of the grassy background.
Spider is perched on the leafy branch above.

Plenty of butterflies in the garden today. A Red Admiral butterfly even dive bombed me a couple of times as I stepped into its territory!

Iggy