Dew on the Web

One of the classic photos of spider’s webs are those with dew or rain droplets on them. The great thing about moisture on a web is that it widens the web slightly and helps it to stand out more clearly. As already mentioned – the best time of day for dewy webs is mornings.

Fill Your Frame

Use your zoom to get in as close as you can to the spider’s web. If you’ve got a macro lens or macro mode switch to it to help you focus up nice and close. Another framing is to focus upon just a smaller part of the web and the patterns that you see there. In this way you can end up with some real detail and abstract composition.

Shoot from both sides

Sometimes a web can look quite dull and lifeless from one side while the other side has the light falling upon it in a way that just brings it to life! This will also help you to see the web with a different background.

Shoot from head on

Photographing webs from all angles can leave you with interesting results – however getting directly in front of the web and shooting from straight on will enable you to keep the full web in focus as the distance from your lens to all parts of the web will be similar – negating any narrow depth of field you might have. Of course you might also like some shallow depth of field shots (large apertures for these) from different angles to see what effect you can get.

Use Manual Focussing

Switching your camera to manual mode is something that most macro photographers find helpful because even the slightest changes in focussing can have a large impact. As webs are so fine even being slightly out of focus can ruin your shot.

Tripods Please

Keeping the web still by shooting on a still day is important – but so is keeping your camera still. The intricate details of a web on a contrasting background mean that camera movement will be very noticeable.

Be an environmentally friendly photographer

We’ve covered this topic numerous times here at DPS but it’s worth remphasising. Remember that where there’s a web there’s a little (or not so little) creature that made it.

Find a dark background

The backgrounds of all shots are important as they either add to or distract from the shot. WIth spider’s webs it is particularly important to have a plain and preferably dark background. This will enable the web itself to stand out and be the feature of the shot.

Narrow your Depth of Field

To isolate the web further from your plain and dark background choose a large aperture (small ‘f/number’) to give you a shallow depth of field. This will throw your background out of focus.

How to Photograph a Spider’s Web

One subject that presents photographers with wonderful opportunities but also a lot of challenges is the spider’s web. There’s something about their delicate nature (while also being incredibly strong for their size), flexibility and beauty that draws me to them every time.
But how do you photograph spider’s webs? Here are 11 tips to keep in mind:

Shoot on a still day

Spider’s webs are incredibly light and if there’s even a hint of breath in the air they’re likely to move as you photograph them. This has the potential to not only cause blur in your shot – but also movement will shake off any moisture on them and potentially could even break them. Generally the stillest part of the day is early morning (which is also a great time for finding dew covered webs).

Arachnology at the Burke

Arachnology is the study of spiders and other Arachnida. Within these pages, you can learn more about the Burke's terrestrial invertebrates division, its collections, and the ever-popular "Spider Myths".
The collection at the Burke Museum includes 150,000 spiders, as well as other terrestrial invertebrates such as 37,000 butterflies and moths, and some 250,000 additional specimens including worms, cave fauna, scorpions, and a very small flea collection.

Daring Jumping Spider

A Daring Jumping Spider, also known as a Bold Jumping Spider. It is a common spider in the continental United States, except for the west coast.
I always liked these as a kid because they looked like little tarantulas. These are one of the rare spiders my mother didn’t kill, for the same reason. They are not related to tarantulas. That’s probably a good thing because these guys can jump as much as 50 times their body length. I don’t think you’d want to see a tarantula do that!
The daring jumping spider averages anywhere from a half inch to a little more than three-quarters of an inch in length. That means they could potential jump as far as 3 feet and 3 inches!
The jumping spider is an active hunter. They don’t build webs and wait for dinner to come to them. Like the assassin bug, the jumping spider hunts down their next meal!
The jumping spider does not rely on mental manifestation or daydreaming of his next meal, hoping it will arrive at his doorstep. No, the jumping spider actively seeks it out!
The jumping spider works hard during the day and sleeps at night, as most people do. They are curious and not easily intimated, which makes them successful and are, not coincidentally, two of the keys of success for humans as well!
So, if you should see one of these spiders, think of the lessons you can learn. And, wave to him. He might just wave back at you!

Spiders - Meet the Culprits

Spiders are complicated creatures. In most cases they are benevolent little creatures that protect you from harm, harm that is brought about by disease-carrying flies. They also protect you from other creatures that are considered pests. They could be pests in your garden but if the spider is big enough, it can be an effective deterrent to very bothersome mice.
On the other hand, there are many species of spiders that are harmful to humans. Some of these spiders have venom that can harm your family. If you have small pets, the effects of a spider bite from these venomous little creatures may kill them. The same goes for little children. Species like the Black widow has even been known to kill full-size adult human beings. For that reason, spider control is important. You can learn great methods of controlling spiders without pesticides with the Guide to Organic Pest Control...this guide is perfect for anyone with a family or a sensitivity to the chemicals in pesticides.
If the need arises for you to kill a spider, then here are a few simple steps you can read to help you against these eight-legged critters.

1. When you see a spider in your house and are thinking about how to kill spiders, remain calm. Running around screaming is not the best course of action. Take a deep breath. Bottle up some courage and proceed to step two.
2. Look at the spider. You should already know where the spider is. Get close enough to get a good look at the spider without being too close to it that it might be able to reach you and bite you.
3. Most spiders are relatively harmless to human beings. There are only a few spiders that are venomous. Look at the spider to see if there are distinctive marks. Some of the friendly spiders that might fend off more dangerous spider include the Giant House Spider, roughly 3 inches in length or more; Wolf Spider, a strongly-built brown camouflaged spider that preys on flies, and Daddy Long Legs, a spider with really thin long legs that are known to consume dangerous spiders.
4. Look at the spider and determine if it fits the traits of a deadly spider. The Black Widow is a deadly spider and it can be identified by a red mark on its end. It is predominantly black with thin legs and is roughly around three quarters of an inch to an inch and a half long. Another spider to watch out for is the Brown Recluse. It is about the size of a penny and their body color ranges from light brown to coffee. The Brown Recluse can be determined by the stretched violin like marking on its back.
5. Get a large seltzer bottle or any water container that can release high pressure liquid. This will hold the spider long enough for you to kill its. Also get a long flat surface that you will use to poke at the spider and whack it. If the spider is on the wall or on the ceiling, do not stand directly underneath it. Use your long object to poke at the spider until it falls on the floor and spray it with the seltzer bottle. This should immobilize the spider long enough for the next step.
6. With the spider immobilized by the water, keep your eye on the spider as you whack it with your long flat item. Make sure the spider is totally squished. Spiders are known to be sturdier than other insects.
7. Sweep up. Clean up after you have successfully exterminated the creature.

Spider pest control doesn't necessarily mean killing every spider you see. When you want to get rid of spiders, you may want to check with an organic exterminator to find out natural ways for how to get rid of spiders without actually killing them. This, of course, applies to harmless spiders and not poisonous ones. House spiders are rather cool creatures that in most cases do more good than bad. So if you think the spider is not poisonous, you might as well leave it alone. It might even end up protecting you against more venomous spiders.