Papilio's photo thread

[Shell]

Your pictures are absolutely incredible! The detail is amazing, keep them coming.

 

[grayzone]

wow... i never get tired of lookin at that photo (or any other photos of yours for that matter)... BTW.. payment for that photo is being made tonight, or 1st thing in the mornin. need ya to PM your paypal account to me again please

thanks,
steven

 

[papilio]

I already do, it is just very hard to take macro shots on an iphone that don't come out as a blur of color...

Wow, that's amazing that you can, even without this new attachment you're getting, achieve macros with an iphone! I'll be looking forward to your new images!


It was really funny, I show up at Chad's with my mega-rig ... he pulls out his little point and shoot and, with one hand and barely looking at what he's shooting, gets an exceptional macro of his tiny pulcher slings ... autofocused and all!! LOL

BTW, Beth (if you see this) I'll be receiving the new Raynox msn-202 on Mon or Tues, so I'll be all set to photograph the invisible world!

Your pictures are absolutely incredible! The detail is amazing, keep them coming.

Thanks a lot Shell! Really nice of you to stop by, and your comments are very much appreciated!

wow... i never get tired of lookin at that photo (or any other photos of yours for that matter)... BTW.. payment for that photo is being made tonight, or 1st thing in the mornin. need ya to PM your paypal account to me again please

thanks,
steven

Great, thanks Steven! As I said, no hurry. I really like your photo too, I think that crop I ended up using really helps the image's composition ... can't wait to see how it turns out on Kodak's amazing paper, with all that color it should look pretty trippy!!

Man, it's not about "self-promotion" - you're having a talent! People can buy the most expensive, or advanced stuff out there - you'll have to agree that even with equipment worth thousands of bucks, it doesn't make you a great photographer! It's about the skill and talent how you put your equipment to use and how you're capturing the fine details of your T's that makes these pictures so remarkably awesome. There are a lot of really great pics to be found on AB and I love skimming through certain picture threads, but (and this is certainly NOT meant in any offending way!) none of those have THAT much detail and that brilliant and clear shots.

To make it short - it takes time for you to do those shots and work on them before you have a picture you are satisfied with. In having them printed, there's extra cost involved. So if people want a poster, it's totally alright to charge a certain amount for that. Don't feel bad the SLIGHTEST about it! I personally haven't -ever- seen any shots that brought out that much detail, that yours do!

You're golden, man!

Thank you so much Storm, MOST encouraging to hear. Yeah, I read once, 'What do you call a photographer who owns a Nikon? ... A Nikon owner.' LOL

I guess that many photographers see only the shortcomings in their photos. But false humility aside, judging by the generous comments I've been getting here and on flickr, I seem to have somehow managed to created my own photographic niche, and I might as well take advantage of that ... at least for as long as it lasts.

And yes, I have to say that a lot of work does go into the photos which I post ... though I absolutely LOVE doing it all! The larger Ts, which I take through the acrylic of their enclosures, are generally pretty quick and straightforward ... but in chasing the little slings all over the 'studio set' I often end up with 500 to 1000 shots, and then culling, stacking (when possible) and processing, though again I consider it all great fun, is pretty labor -- or play -- intensive, especially as I typically end up with just a few post-able images.

I guess what I meant by 'self promoting' is that my photo thread really isn't the appropriate place to bring up print sales -- I'd ask rather that anyone interested simply PM me for the URL of my site once it's up to speed, probably beginning sometime next week.




I really didn't like the idea of bumping the post without a photo, and it really had been a long time since photographing my female cambridgei, just freshly molted (since I seem to be obsessed with the sp. for the time being ), so ...



Psalmopoeus cambridgei adult female, 6-inch. 'Trinidad Chevron' by _papilio, on Flickr

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Thanks again to everyone for the very flattering comments!

-Michael

 

[Robotponys]

Wow, that's amazing that you can, even without this new attachment you're getting, achieve macros with an iphone! I'll be looking forward to your new images!

Aww thanks! They're not very sharp or close up, but better than nothing! My mom's macro on her digital camera is sooo bad. I got a few cool pics, but it is annoying and I don't want to share.

You COMPLETELY deserve the "flattering comments!" You deserve to win the lottery...

 

[papilio]

Just one more that I found ...

Aww thanks! They're not very sharp or close up, but better than nothing! My mom's macro on her digital camera is sooo bad. I got a few cool pics, but it is annoying and I don't want to share.

You COMPLETELY deserve the "flattering comments!" You deserve to win the lottery...

Thank you Robotponys! LOL And yeah, I've paid my dues with frustrating equipment too! Still be careful though, even that's plenty to get you hooked!!



I came across this rather surprising photo from last weekend which I didn't realize I had ... the Lone Ranger never looked so cute!



Psalmopoeus pulcher, 1st instar sling, 0.25-inch by _papilio, on Flickr

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My flickr friend Shari sent me this today ... she has watched the T 'migrations' in New Mexico, during which hundreds of males will be seen crossing the highways in the evenings, looking to get lucky during the night. The locals are very protective, to the extent of lining the roads with these!

Speaking of mating, I'll be attempting my first pairing tomorrow, a lovely couple of H. macs. I admit I'll be awfully excited if it ends up working for me!!

 

[Hendersoniana]

I think i may have missed ur eq post. But wow beautiful pics again! I own nikon's macto lense but i can nevee achieve this kind of images. I still hve a lot to learn i guess. Really beautiful, especially all the colours u capture and your lighting is just perfect!!

 

[papilio]

A few 'attempting-to-breed' pics

I think i may have missed ur eq post. But wow beautiful pics again! I own nikon's macto lense but i can nevee achieve this kind of images. I still hve a lot to learn i guess. Really beautiful, especially all the colours u capture and your lighting is just perfect!!

Thanks again Hendrsoniana! Which Nikon macro have you got? (Just curious) If you've followed some of the equipment discussions on this thread, though I love the Tokina 100mm, a 1:1 magnification can only do so much ... Clip-on Raynox lenses work brilliantly, especially for the little bit they cost, and that's how I'm able to pull in closer than a macro lens alone can do. MUCH better than using extension tubes!!!

And you mention lighting ... hard to think of anything which plays a more integral role in the appearance of a photo than how the lighting is involved and set up. One of my greatest revelations was when I 'discovered' what a wonderful thing diffuse lighting is! Just notice sometime how much effort the 'big boys' of macro spend on every minutia of the shape and behavior of their diffusers. Once I got a grasp on the basic principles of lighting for close-ups, my images began giving me so much more satisfaction than I'd ever known before, maybe you'll notice the same.

Oh, BTW, sorry to have to ask but what does 'eq' stand for?



Well, a very entertaining but not yet successful experience today in my first breeding attempt ... not to imply that I'm at all discouraged, they came SO close!!! LOL Right now my two H. macs are very peacefully co-habitating, perhaps something will awaken their libidos again later tonight. I used Beth's advice on putting a bit of the male's webbing a corner of the girl's housing, and that's where he's comfortably 'sleeping' right now. No signs of aggression at all from the female. I bred my larger female, was actually a bit surprised to find out just how large she is! The male is clearly intimidated, so I probably made a mistake in that choice.


These handsome white females have always reminded me of Imperial Storm Troopers!


Heteroscodra maculata, 5-inch adult female by _papilio, on Flickr

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And the cute little male,

Can anyone tell, is that just a light patch or is that embolus full of sperm?

After the first attempt, which I think really spooked the male (though he went right on drumming for at least another hour), this is the closest the female was able to get to him.

I sure hope this turns out well of course, but in either case they put on a great show for this newbie!!

 

[Protectyaaaneck]

Good luck man, that's a beautiful pair!

 

[jbm150]

Absolutely awesome pics of your mating pair. I can't agree more about lighting, once I got better with understanding lighting and using the flash on my point n click, my pics have gotten so much nicer. I think the next step for me will be to rig up some sort of diffuser. The light from the flash becomes that much more natural, as can be seen in your pics. Great stuff man!

 

[Robotponys]

Cool! Can't wait to see some itty bitty white slings speeding up your arms! Maybe I'll buy some from you, if you're successful.

 

[advan]

That last pulcher shot was amazing! :clap: How'd you miss that one! :?

Good luck with the H. macs Michael! Beautiful photos of them!

 

[papilio]

Still waiting ... meanwhile here's an embolus pic

Good luck man, that's a beautiful pair!

Thanks a lot Jason!!
So what would be your advice, reading the below?

Absolutely awesome pics of your mating pair. I can't agree more about lighting, once I got better with understanding lighting and using the flash on my point n click, my pics have gotten so much nicer. I think the next step for me will be to rig up some sort of diffuser. The light from the flash becomes that much more natural, as can be seen in your pics. Great stuff man!

Thanks Jeff!
My first 'diffuser' -- which was good enough for me to shout out a good 'WOW' when I saw the difference in the images -- was just a big, loose wad of polyester batting loosely taped in front of the camera's pop-up flash!

Cool! Can't wait to see some itty bitty white slings speeding up your arms! Maybe I'll buy some from you, if you're successful.

Good, I'll put you on my mailing list!

That last pulcher shot was amazing! :clap: How'd you miss that one! :?

Good luck with the H. macs Michael! Beautiful photos of them!

LOL Thanks Chad! I had split up that memory card into a bunch of folders on the HD based on pulcher vs. cambridgei and image type, and these few to make the stack were found mixed in with another stack series.

What's your opinion on the behavior of this pair, just give them time?




So here's the current situation ... the male is constantly drumming, and the female responds every time, but then as she approaches ... without exception he turns (occasionally runs) away. But he just keeps on drumming ... what's he expecting, SHE WANTS IT!!

He dove right in the very first time, but that one resulted in what I *believe* was just a fall of the two of them, rather than an attack attempt by the female. I've been watching them closely for two days now and haven't seen the slightest aggressive attitude in the female.


I did come across a post saying that a male H. mac will keep returning for successive insertions, true?




Well, to pass the time one thing I did was get this stack of one of his emboli.
Lesson learned ... don't expect good IQ when shooting at a 45-degree angle through 1/4-inch acrylic!


Heteroscodra maculata, 4.5-inch adult male, embolus by _papilio, on Flickr

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[Storm76]

As usual, breathtaking new pictures, Sir!

 

[Hendersoniana]

Ur last photo should be on national geohraphic's last page on the "guess what this is" section, reay beautiful!

I meant eq as in equipment, was too lazy to type out the entire thing .
My lens i use is the nikon 105mm VR macro. My photos are still far away from ur standards though. Still learning how to control the nikon SB 900. Lightin for me is still very difficulr, gotta keep reading and practising. Btw, do u set ur whitr balance on auto? My WB is auto but i cant seem to get the natur colour u get in ur photos.

 

[papilio]

Last night's Widow pics

As usual, breathtaking new pictures, Sir!

Thank you Storm!! Always so good of you to drop by!

Ur last photo should be on national geohraphic's last page on the "guess what this is" section, reay beautiful!

I meant eq as in equipment, was too lazy to type out the entire thing .
My lens i use is the nikon 105mm VR macro. My photos are still far away from ur standards though. Still learning how to control the nikon SB 900. Lightin for me is still very difficulr, gotta keep reading and practising. Btw, do u set ur whitr balance on auto? My WB is auto but i cant seem to get the natur colour u get in ur photos.

Thanks a lot Hendersoniana!
Nice lens!

I use a couple of Yongnuo YN560 strobes, which is a great light for the price, but no TTL so I just have to adjust the power to get approximately the correct exposure, then tweak it later with software. Yeah I have the camera set on auto WB ... the camera can balance in different ways depending on the shot or a person's taste. For some reason using diffusers always seems to warm the image considerably though, so just as a matter of course in CaptureNX 2 I always right away move the temp slider to -20. But in any case I've quit trusting auto WB either as a camera or software function and just muck around with the colors till they look right to me ... there are two primary adjustments I've realized, first the image temp of course, but then also the overall color cast, which is usually a matter of moving the green/magenta slider back and forth. (It's kind of funny though, I need to take Adderall and it totally messes with my color perception. So I always need to double-check my work when the med has worn off!)

I've no doubt that modern cameras' auto WB works quite well in most situations, but I don't think it's so useful with macrophotography ... we macro shooters have to do just about everything manually, which is one reason I think it's so much fun!

 

[Trogdora]

The new widow pics are really outstanding, Michael. And good luck with those H. macs! I think your photos have actually made me want one.

 

[Storm76]

Love the latter 2 shots with that amazing blue background. Great contrast!

 

[Hendersoniana]

I always let my camera do the auto wb, but the colours always turn out to be very 'fake'. Ur photos show the tarantula's true colours, like ur H mac, if i were to take the same spider, it will be slightly blueish or somth. Lighting is really provin to be a real headache for me. Still gotta keep readibg and practicing. Does raynox fit all cameras? Im thinking of getting that also but im not sure how it works. Nice slings btw, really like the blue effect u played with there.

 

[zonbonzovi]

I always wondered what the results would be w/ the Raynox msn-202. The dcr-250 is nice but has limited range for us cheap folk w/ a prosumer cammie.

 

[papilio]

Mopping up flickr

I haven't posted for a while, and am going through one of my burn-out phases in taking new photos, so I'll just post what I think are the better remaining flickr pics -- still a lot there which I haven't posted, but nothing interesting so I'll leave them out of the thread.

First though, Chad pointed out that my black widow photos don't belong on a tarantula pictures thread! DOH, that hadn't even occurred to me ... thanks for reminding me Chad! So Shell, could you delete the relevant posts for me, or move them to the appropriate forum? Thank you, I really won't mind in the slightest. Sorry about that!!

The new widow pics are really outstanding, Michael. And good luck with those H. macs! I think your photos have actually made me want one.

Thanks Jeni!

I've wanted a nice white female H. mac for a long time, but as they often turn out tannish instead I haven't felt like raising them from slings. They're just stunning, certainly unique, and mine at least are quite docile and on display often enough to be satisfying to own ... almost tempting to handle them! hehe But no, probably not the best idea.

So far, near as I can tell the couple haven't mated yet, and I've removed the male for a couple weeks to hopefully get him over his trauma of that first attempt at insertion which evidently turned him into such a wimp. I may rather try to pair him with my smaller female, in which case I'll probably put the larger female up for sale at our next meeting, in case you may be interested.

Love the latter 2 shots with that amazing blue background. Great contrast!

Hey thanks! I was really pleased with the way they turned out ... pretty surreal!

I always let my camera do the auto wb, but the colours always turn out to be very 'fake'. Ur photos show the tarantula's true colours, like ur H mac, if i were to take the same spider, it will be slightly blueish or somth. Lighting is really provin to be a real headache for me. Still gotta keep readibg and practicing. Does raynox fit all cameras? Im thinking of getting that also but im not sure how it works. Nice slings btw, really like the blue effect u played with there.

I'm glad I could be of some help Hendersoniana! Diffuse lighting really does the trick, doesn't it?! I thought those scorpion photos you took were just superb, totally professional looking. Great job!!

I always wondered what the results would be w/ the Raynox msn-202. The dcr-250 is nice but has limited range for us cheap folk w/ a prosumer cammie.

Hey zonbonzovi, nice to have you stop by. Yeah, the msn-202 is quite a leap over its little brother ... and the performance and optical quality are quite good! It can be a bit frustrating at first if you shoot by hand, but the results can be quite stunning!


Here's that last photo again of one of Chad's pulcher slings, I just re-cropped it for what I think is a better composition.


Psalmopoeus pulcher, 1st instar sling, 0.25-inch by _papilio, on Flickr

I really like the Original here!

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My stepbrother's 4-yr-old, Sam, captured this shot after tossing in a snack.


Sam's Nhandu, 5-inch with dubia. by _papilio, on Flickr

Another good one for an Original view.

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Poecilotheria metallica juvie female (3.5&quot. "Gooty Sapphire Ornamental" by _papilio, on Flickr

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Poecilotheria metallica juvie female, 3-inch by _papilio, on Flickr

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Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens sling, 0.75-inch by _papilio, on Flickr

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Lunch for my Orange Baboon by _papilio, on Flickr

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Avicularia diversipes sling, 0.75-inch ... playing dead by _papilio, on Flickr

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Avicularia diversipes sling v.2 by _papilio, on Flickr

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Avicularia diversipes sling, grooming foot with its fangs, v.2 by _papilio, on Flickr

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Avicularia diversipes sling, 0.75-inch, soft focus by _papilio, on Flickr

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Lethal voltage by _papilio, on Flickr

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