An uneven wrestling match

Your comments are welcome

As usual very well caught and action moment shows so well how aggressive this small spider can be,the victim is bigger but for this  hunter doesn't matter.

Line, Beautiful picture of a struggle for life.

A very nice result with beautiful lighting an details, Line!

 

Very nice capture. Well done.

I really envy your insect shots ... they are always so sharp and colorful.  Maybe share some details of technique and how you handle your little subjects?  Would be a learning experience for all that admire your work!  Lighting?  Just a macro?  Finding your subjects?  Thank you for your contributions to PN!

Your insect pictures are so intimate that I'm sure you must be on a first name basis with the little critters by now. Another astounding picture.

Thank you all for your visit and comments.

My setting is very basic. D7000, Tokina 100mm macro, Manfroto tripod.
 I use only natural light. The tripod can go down inches from the ground. I use a pistol grip head and no railing. I keep the camera on the tripod at all time and often use it as a monopod as I don't want to disturb the the vegetation near the bug and scare it away when spreading the legs. You can make all the noise you want (and yes Jack we know each other on a first name basis, I catch myself talking to them...), but watch your shadow and do not breath on them. I find I have better luck approaching them if I remain glued to the camera. I use both manual and aperture priority, spot metering. I do stacking so I shoot a lot. I set aperture anywhere between f4 and f8 depending on the situation, but find myself shooting more toward f8. A smaller aperture means you need less frames for the stack and also insure an overlap of focus. You can have camera movement back and forth, sideways and up and down, but you have maintain the same perspective for the frames to align in a stack. The main thing is to understand their behavior so you can get very close while they still feel safe. Once you understand how they react, you can make them relocate to another perch or move from under a leaf. You will lose some of course... Fast refocusing skills are essential and can only be achieved with practice. As for location, I live in Texas so it is fields of tall grass for me. Which is scary... you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times, we have all kinds of venomous snakes and spiders! I shoot on cloudy days (not too many of those in Texas), or in the morning for two reasons: 1-the light is better with no harsh shadows and reflections and 2-I don't want to die of a heat stroke. I do the stacks and post processing in Ps. I am in my mid fifties and my eyesight is not as good as it used to be, but I am so familiar now with this environment that I can spot the littlest insect on a weed. Mind you I have no clue what it is until I look at it through my lens but I know it is there! So in conclusion: it is not an easy task. The field work is hard (especially in the heat of Texas), be prepared to get down to the ground for some of these shots, get bit by chiggers and such or land in a patch of cacti. And the processing is tedious.... But I enjoy every minute I spend with my mind wrapped in their world. Hope this is helpful.

Sincerely, Line

Fantastic action shot.  Thank you for the explanation of your technique, you do an exception job.

Thank you so much for your very thorough response!  It was extremely helpful.  I certainly know that many freeze (or worse) their prey to get such shots.  Glad that you are kind to little critters!  Besides the details of what could get to be tedious ... I was most amazed about stacking macros.  Although I have never done stacking, I have read enough ... but never for macros.  Your hand must really be trained for very tiny focus changes ... can't imagine.  But all of your techniques that you have described certainly put your shots in much much better perspective and appreciation of the results.  Thank you again for all you fine contributions to PN ... they are appreciated. :-)