Now I have seen a bit more behavior and viewed under a hand lens at different angles I can confidently say this is a female Tmarus angulatus - a type of crab spider. This top view wasn’t terribly useful for the final ID, but seeing her from the side nailed it. The body is pointy at the spinnerets end and quite distinctive. They, like other crabbies, sit and wait for prey to come within reach of those devastating front legs.
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Sorry for another non-nature stage for a small critter, but I couldn’t pass this one by. I think it’s a kind of sheet weaver spider and it’s right next to my door. It was a little dim under the porch roof so I put my LED panel on the camera. It’s attached to a couple of flexible arms from Joby and I positioned it right at the end of my lens. Luckily it didn’t scare off this little beauty - check out those front legs! From this angle the thorax appears teardrop shaped. The proportion of front pair of legs and the body shape led me to look at sheet weavers as the class of spider it might belong to, but I am not able to determine that for sure, much less an exact species. Anyway, it sure was cool to see and a very patient model.
Specific Feedback
Normally I’d go softer and less dramatic with processing, but given the fact that it’s on my door and lit artificially, I thought I’d hit it with a more stylistic intent. Does it work?
Technical Details
Handheld
Lr for a tiny crop and wb adjustment. Brought down exposure some and used masking to give the spider more presence. HSL panel to massage the blue paint color a bit by bringing down luminosity. A slight vignette and crop to position the spider at this point. Oh and Topaz Sharpen AI brought out a lot of fine detail.
Nicely seen, Kris. Love those legs and the detail in the spider. The body part of this little fellow reminds me of a sea shell. Your perspective and lighting do create a more stylistic view, but in a good way.
Thanks @Bonnie_Lampley & @linda_mellor - glad it looks reasonably good. The spider is now on one of the porch posts, painted white, sitting in ambush. So I don’t think it is a sheetweaver after all since it isn’t using a web, but instead is kind of just sitting and waiting like a crab spider does. I’ll have another look in the book and see if I can come up with something more plausible.
Now you’ve said it, the body is sort of shell-like. IRL the abdomen is probably 4mm long, maybe 3. Tiny little thing.
Hi Kris, great subject and your lighting choice adds to the intrigue of this fine image. I like the slight angle of the spider and the good look at the face - focus seems spot on. well done.
Fascinating capture, with the BG almost as interesting as the spider. It would make a good texture overlay. Excellent lighting for detail and sharpness.
Thanks @Allen_Sparks & @Diane_Miller - glad the somewhat odd light and surroundings work. I have an ID now in the OP, it’s a species of crab spider and is still hanging out on my front porch pillar. I like having her around.
This is quite the set of legs on that spider, Kris! I’m glad that you were able to ID him. You really got good details in him. I do like the tear shape of his body. Nicely captured.
