A man, a plan, a kayak, a camera!

[lpw]

I set out to find some Dolomedes tenebrosus on the shores of Temperance Lake near Athens, Ontario. From previous excursions, I knew that they like to hang out on the rocky shores near the water line. None of the specimens I found were full grown yet, but I saw quite a few juveniles/young adults.

Balancing a kayak, holding on to the paddle, drinking a beer, and focusing a macro lens were not easy to accomplish in parallel , but I managed to snap a few pics nonetheless...

 

[lpw]

Here's a pic of the habitat:

Any suggestions on the id of the following sider? Looks like a Pisaurid to me, but I have no idea as to the species or even genus:

 

[lpw]

Jaws!

Some Tetragnathidae

 

[lpw]

An Araneid and a jumper:

 

[lpw]

Dragonfly galore!

 

[Crotalus]

Spectacular photos! Thanks for sharing and keep them coming!

 

[tarcan]

Gorgeous pics, thanks for sharing... and if really you were in a kayak while taking them, your tha man!:worship:

Martin

 

[Brian F.]

Great stuff! Please keep these coming.

 

[Sheri]

I know through trial and failure that those dragonflies are damn hard to photograph... those are really, really good photos.

The only success (and I use that term loosely) is when they're near death, when I'm holding them, or when they're reloading sperm. And that's kinda cheating, no matter how you look at it!

 

[lpw]

Thanks for the encouraging words. It's nice to be able to share these experiences with like-minded people -- this is a great forum!

Sheri, I found that there's a "trick" to photographing dragonflies: they tend to return to the same resting spot. The initial approach will most likely spook a resting dragonfly and it'll fly off. While it's buzzing around, I slowly get in position next to the resting spot. When (and if) it comes back, I'm ready to take pictures. Of course, this doesn't always work, but some of the posted pics were obtained using this strategy.

And it helps to be in the woods of northern Ontario, where you're always surrounded by dense clouds of mosquitoes -- dragonfly bait, absolutely free . Apparently there are (or at least used to be) wrist gadgets that mimic the vibrations emitted by hovering dragonflies. They're supposed to repel mosquitoes. I'm not convinced. Moreover, they make for really boring photos .

Martin, most of the pics were indeed taken from a kayak. Not the dragonflies though, and not the jumper. Those were taken during a hike in the surrounding area.

More excursions planned, I'll keep ya posted.

Lukasz

 

[Arietans]

Great pics. Awesome awesome awesome

The habitat looks like a place I would love to get lost in for a few weeks

 

[lpw]

The habitat looks like a place I would love to get lost in for a few weeks

Great idea! Let's trade places!

 

[syndicate]

awesome shots of the Dolomedes!

 

[gunslinger]

Very awesome stuff. I love Dolomedes. I think your second pic, the spider with the lighter margins, may be a Dolomedes scriptus.

As for that unknown spider.............really cool.............I agree it looks like a Pisaurid, but I have never seen a spider from either Dolomedes or Pisaurina genus that is very similiar to that. Whatever it is I wish I had found it.

 

[froggyman]

those habitat shots make me want to move to canada