I still wanted to keep it simple though. I decided to focus on getting some macro shots with the 5D, 50/1.8, and EF25 II while Tom did water shots. By the time we were done though, I didn't think I'd come away with as many good shots as I'd hoped; at least not as many as I got at Patapsco last year. I was wrong.
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The real stars of the shoot were some very cooperative spiders though. I'm still amazed at the detail of these shots. It seems like a crime to only post the shots at web resolution though, so I've included a couple extra shots at (nearly) full resolution. I never knew a daddy longlegs had eyes like that. And is that the male hanging out underneath? Crazy.
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Here's another spider that was just hanging out in the middle of his web near the ground. Just to give you a sense of scale, his legs spanned about the size of a dime. I didn't even notice the "large" hairs on his legs until I pulled the image up at full resolution.
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I also came away with a few interesting leaf structure shots. Mother Nature is clearly a graphic designer.
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I used the same techniques as I did in Patapsco last time, so check out that article for more info. By the way, the gear I used can be had for about $1000. Happy shooting.