My husband noticed this Jumping Spider in the house this morning, so I took him outside and placed him on the Spiderwort, a plant that these guys seem to like right well. Ran and got my camera and he was kind enough to pose for me (although very shyly down in the plant) for saving him from starving in the house.
Specific Feedback Requested
Anything you might can offer to improve the shot.
Technical Details
Taken with Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 100 mm L macro lens, HH, manaul settings at f10, 1/200, ISO 320, with KX-800 twin flash and homemade diffuser. Cropped to 8X11 format in LR, with minor adjustments in Topaz AI and NIX.
Fun!! He looks wary but probably happy to back outside. I like the setting and composition. Focus is where it needs to be and details are great. Your flash setup works very well.
You are just amazing, Shirley. You are like the “spider whisper!” They do whatever you want. The look on his face, the details and even the soft dusting of pollen and perfect. He has even landed on a nice arched leaf for you. Great shot!
Thank you both for you kind comments. @Diane_Miller, I have tried so many setups before finally finding a right combo for my homemade diffuser, which is 2 milk jugs cut out and taped together, and then a cheap cloth diffuser in between the flash heads and the milk jugs. They stay together and seem sturdy, and looks like it is diffusing about right. I appreciate the confirmation from you on that.
@linda_mellor , this is my ugly setup for diffuser for my KX-800 twin flash that I use for macro photography. Not pretty, but so far I am pretty satisfied with the results. Jumping Spider eyes are my test for good results. I think where I was shooting into the plant, a stem got in between the diffuser and him, as I see a dark line in the refraction of the lighting that looks like a shadow of a stem. I don’t think it would be the beam light out front of the setup that’s part of the flash for shining light onto the subject when needed, which is very rare.
The spider’s two green “ornaments” are breathtaking - the very interesting diffuser has allowed you to catch these perfectly. I guess that rarely-used beam light can be bent backwards over the camera if not needed? Lovely shot, Shirley.
You are right, @Kris_Smith, I’m pretty sure it isn’t TTL, but I shoot all manual when doing macro with the flash, so not a problem. I usually set the power to around 1/8th (and you can set one flash head to one power setting while the other is at a different power, if you wish, or even turn one off). I have really enjoyed this flash for a few years now. A friend photographer bought one, but she left her alkaline batteries in it while not in use, and I think they ruined the flash for her. So, a word of caution, probably not just this flash, but any flash, don’t leave alkaline batteries in while not in use. I use rechargeable ones and have never had a problem.
The center light is just to provide light on the subject for you to see better to focus when working in really dim light (very rare for me to need this). As you can see, @Mike_Friel, right now with my diffuser set up, I am using this center light to help support the cloth diffuser. I’m confident it isn’t in the way of the lights, as I have them pulled back so that they shine through the diffuser and so it isn’t causing a shadow. Thank you for the thought though.
Hi Shirley! Great shot of the jumping spider. I really like the detail, especially of the pollen and “ornaments”, as Mike called them. Your flash and diffuser setup is impressive. Very effective DIY setup. Well done!
Shirley: What a great subject and even more impressive capture. I’ve often wondered about your flash setup and now I know. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Many kudos!!! >=))>
