Papilio's photo thread

[papilio]

So nice to see one of these. I never got a good look at mine, and I raised it from sling to mature male.

Yeah it's funny, I've had a couple of these for months but hadn't till now tried to get some decent shots ... I suppose partly because they're quite skittish and fast. But I was amazed by how the gorgeous metallic abdomen showed up here. Of course at least two of the Psalmos are similarly colored but it seems to take more work and attention to getting the lighting just right to bring it out on them.

I had the pebble it's on surrounded by a moat about three inches wide. At one point I could see that it was preparing for a base jump, normally I would have tried to get the shot right then but instead I took my eye from the camera so that I wouldn't lose the sling. No problem for it to clear the moat and rim of the bowl! Hahaa! But I had that surrounded by a flokati rug so it didn't get far.

Overall it took me pleasantly by surprise to see what a pretty little sling this is.

 

[papilio]

Encyocratella olivacea‏ sling, 0.75-inch, exuvia -- focus stacks





Yeah, it's subtle, but you can just make out the venom hole on the right fang.

 

[Intermedius]

amazing pictures!

 

[papilio]

amazing pictures!

Thanks a lot Intermedius!





Encyocratella olivacea‏ sling, 0.75-inch, exuvia
















B. emilia adult female, exuvia
Urticating hair above right-center.




Fovea, inspired by Chad. :worship:
Reminds me of Monument Valley in Winter.



Thanks for looking!

 

[papilio]

And back to live spiders.



Lasiodora difficilis adult female, 7-inch

 

[papilio]

Poecilotheria tigrinawesseli juvie female, 4-inch

 

[kean]

Those are Amazing Pictures! Excellent Work!

 

[papilio]

Those are Amazing Pictures! Excellent Work!

Thanks much kean!







Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens, sub-adult
























































Thanks for looking!

 

[bloodred1889]

Hi papillos.
Your photos are amazing. I read on one reply you use a Nikon D7000 (Nikon are great) I have a Nikon d70, and was wondering what lens you use for the extreme close ups... in fact, what other lenses do you use aswell. my best lens for tarantulas at the moment is an 18-50mm lens, i really want to get into macro photography, and i like what im seeing in your photos.

thanks, keep photoing

 

[concrete]

http://thereptilereport.com/pe/2013/?nomcat=invertebrateimageoftheyear2013

Grats man! Well deserved

 

[Storm76]

Geez! Man, your pics got even a tad bit better once again...how the hell do you do it

 

[Oreo]

Stunning photos as always! I noticed the urticating hair you captured on the B. emilia, have you had any luck snapping a photo while a T is flicking some hairs? Would prob need to use a mask and goggles.

 

[papilio]

Hi papillos.
Your photos are amazing. I read on one reply you use a Nikon D7000 (Nikon are great) I have a Nikon d70, and was wondering what lens you use for the extreme close ups... in fact, what other lenses do you use aswell. my best lens for tarantulas at the moment is an 18-50mm lens, i really want to get into macro photography, and i like what im seeing in your photos.

thanks, keep photoing

Thank you bloodred!

I was using the D7000 until about a month ago when, half-way through shooting a stack, the shutters somehow bent and scratched the sensor, totaling the camera. I went with a FF Canon 6D this time, largely because Canon has its unique Electronic First Curtain Shutter. But as soon as I began using the camera I was amazed by how much better the images looked than they did with the D7000, really rich colors and great dynamic range. The improvement is likely due to this being a current generation camera rather than a Nikon vs. Canon issue, since I'm seeing the same rich images coming from Chad's new D7100.

On the D7000 I was using the Nikkor 105mm macro, plus the Raynox dcr-250 and msn-202 for 2:1 and 4:1. The higher-powered of the two Raynox lenses was dreadful to be honest, but the 250 was quite good. This new MP-E 65mm is magnificent up through 4:1 but falls apart at 5:1. So I'm still using the Nikon CFI60 microscope objective on a 100mm macro lens for 5X, and it will give me 10X as soon as I find a cheap 200mm telephoto to attach it to.

http://thereptilereport.com/pe/2013/?nomcat=invertebrateimageoftheyear2013

Grats man! Well deserved

Many thanks Mirza! :worship:

Geez! Man, your pics got even a tad bit better once again...how the hell do you do it

Thanks Jan! I'd love to think I'm getting better, but if you're seeing any improvement it's probably the new camera.

Stunning photos as always! I noticed the urticating hair you captured on the B. emilia, have you had any luck snapping a photo while a T is flicking some hairs? Would prob need to use a mask and goggles.

Thanks a lot Oreo!

I rarely encounter urts since my collection is almost entirely arboreal. With the few kickers I do have, I've not yet developed any sensitivity to their urticating hairs, happy to say.





Here are a few focus stacks I've taken in the past few days ...

Lampropelma nigerrimum sling, 1-inch















Psalmopoeus irminia sub-adult female, 5-inch

 

[Storm76]

L-o-v-e the irminia shots and the claw one!!! Stunning, Michael!

 

[papilio]

The rig with a friend

L-o-v-e the irminia shots and the claw one!!! Stunning, Michael!

Thanks Jan! I've got a bunch more irminia pics from the shoot, I'll get them up soon for ya.







Heteroscodra maculata adult female, 5-inch




Here's the 6D on the rig with three lens setups.

Below the camera are ...
Arca plate and clamp
Cognisys Stackshot automated macro stacking rail
Manfrotto geared head
Velbon horizontal boom
Velbon Ultra Rexi L tripod

Of course when shooting single shots of Ts and slings I always just go hand held, this is all for taking stacks at high mag.



Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro








Canon MP-E 65mm Macro

At its most compact position for 1:1



Extended to about 3.5:1


Nikon CFI60 10X microscope objective

On a 100mm macro lens this gives me a very sharp 5:1
I just ordered a 200mm tele which will give the nominal 10:1 with this objective






Canon 320EX speedlight for when I'm away from home ... the big white light in the pics is a 16-inch beauty dish diffuser on a studio strobe.
A lens collar rotated to the side makes a great attachment point for the flash.

 

[papilio]

Heteroscodra maculata adult female, 5-inch






















Psalmopoeus irminia sub-adult female, 5-inch

 

[Alltheworld601]

That mac makes me cry in my soup. Is there a more perfectly constructed spider!?

 

[viper69]

Few things.

1. I need Pap's bank account so I can get this gear, you know I love it, ESP the tripod

2. Insane colors off the irminia

3. How were you able to get the H mac, out of home, on camera, off camera and back in home??! Did it take a nap in the fridge? Hah

 

[concrete]

Amazing detail on that hmac! I like how you added a spider to you gear photos to give us a look at your gear but still stay within the rules

 

[CEC]

Very nice, Michael! I can't wait to see what you do with those new additions. Keep'em Com'n!