I was just experimenting with David Hobby's bug lighting setup - see my previous post for the link. It works pretty well, giving nice even lighting to your invertebrates. However it does have its drawbacks - the lighting is a little too even for drama, and you're stuck with the overhead view.
This morning I had a chance to experiment with the setup: Big drama as I found a nice sized spider hunting in the mess on Miss C's bedroom floor. I told her if she doesn't like spiders, then she should keep her room tidy, but that's another story. I replicated David's paper cup, copy paper and flash set up and got some good results. Then I started experimenting a little. First with a dark background. This was a quick exercise, so I just grabbed a bit of plastic. With a smoother background, this would make a good shot.
Okay, then I decided I wanted a lower angle, and to experiment with more directional light. So I made a large ring of paper, so I could shoot my beautiful arachnid from a lower angle, look into her eyes. (For some reason, my default spider gender is female. Maybe it's something to do with hairy legs.)
It worked okay, especially when I was brave enough to open up the loop and let a direct flash in, creating some leg shadows on the paper.
I like the lower angle the paper ring gave me. But next time, I'll try to find something more like white plastic. You see, paper is fibrous. Unlike plastic cups, if a spider should suddenly decide to climb the barrier, escape and say, scurry across the dining room table, she can. With alarming speed.
Thank goodness Miss C wasn't around. Or Mrs C for that matter. Happily I managed to recapture my model and liberate her into the garden.
Lessons learned. As far as I can tell from the 'net, this may actually be a male sheetweb spider. Anyone care to offer a positive ID?
Update: My mate Mike T tells me it's a female sheetweb. The males have even bigger fangs and more club-like pedipalps.
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