Crab-Spider Devouring His Son
Category
Macro
Location
Brampton Wood Nature Reserve
Gear
Olympus OM1.1, M.Zuiko Digital ED 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO, Godox V1o, Cygnustech Diffuser
Description
This photograph was taken during a long walk through Brampton Wood Nature Reserve, part of the Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust, on a particularly hot day in May. After several hours in the woods, I spotted this Double-banded Crab Spider (Xysticus bifasciatus) perched on a blade of grass. I initially took a few record shots from a distance before moving closer to attempt a focus stack, gently holding the grass to steady the subject. After several failed attempts, I finally managed to capture a complete stack of 22 images at ISO 200, f/8, 1/100 sec, with flash at 1/32 +4. The images were stacked in Helicon Focus 8, reframed in Photoshop, and finally sharpened using Topaz DeNoise. When I first viewed the finished image on my computer, the spider's pose with the smaller spider's body hanging from its fangs, reminded me of Francisco Goya's famous painting Saturn Devouring His Son. That unexpected resemblance inspired the title and became one of my favourite aspects of the photograph.
Photographer
Jack Soldano
Social Media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jrs.photos/
Website: https://JRS.Photos
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