October is spider month in Korea. In the early morning there is often bright, low light striking spider’s webs sometimes at a good angle (almost into the lens) to record refractions on the Orb Weaver’s magical silk. This is said to be stronger than steel, tougher than bullet-proof vests and more elastic than nylon. Nephila clavata has a lot going for it.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D 7100 + 105mm macro, f 5.6 1/250 ISO 200
I can’t remember how I processed this, but probably used the Shadows/Highlights sliders in PS.
The twin rainbow reflections are pretty great at breaking up a relatively uniform background. Even in the thumbnail you can tell it’s a spider web, but wow, you’ve caught it so well. I have only had minimal success in refracting light in spider silk. Beautifully done. You could have a go at evening the light in the background in some way - to have the URC darker might help make this even stronger.
Mike, the arrows of color look great and create a nice zoom effect. Having shot lots of spider web refractions (it does seem that orb weavers provide some of the best refractions), I know well the challenges in getting this view. I like the mix of patterns, colors and shapes.
Wonderful capture, Mike. I love the one, very strong, strand coming in the left. How it seems to be piercing the rest of the scene. The colors are like a perfect rainbow. Very nicely done.
I was just hiking in the White Mountains in NH and it might as well have been spider month…there were webs everywhere–on almost every pine branch, and across from tree to tree along large stretches of the trail.
I love the way webs look when you can get them in photos, but the detail you’ve got there is really something special! Is the “ribbing” effect in the background of the two color reflecting strands also part of the web? Or is it a fern or the like beneath?
@ariella That is part of the main web. If you can get out early when the sun is low and the webs are near the ground , and take lots of shots pointing almost (!) into the sun. using manual focus, you should get some nice effects.
Thank you @Mike_Friel for the specific advice! Next adventure, I will be on the lookout for low webs in early light.
That it’s the main web–in abstract–making up the background of your photo makes it even better, adds depth as well as hinting successfully at what we’re actually looking at.
