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Kisarisary β Long legged jumping spider
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#bug #jumping #macro #madagascar #nature #salticidae #spider #wildlife
Published: 2015-09-27 03:07:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 701; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 9
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Description
Found under a purple leaf, had to hold the camera in one hand and the leaf with the other
shaking party!! 
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Comments: 45
They are quite impressive indeed (seeing them moving is surprising
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It's true there very unique but I if I did see one live I'd probably freak out
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Curious I like that. Maybe I'll be less disturbed if I see one now thank you π
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you're welcome, I'm trying to get rid of this "established" bug-phobia (while still snake-phobic myself)
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Youve got a phobia of bugs and snakes?
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No, just snakes, can't stand their slippery skins (tried to touch one once, never got over itΒ 
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When I was a kid I had a pet snake she was a baby but idk what kind She was but she didn't ha e fnags form what remember
I think there skin feels nice spiders freak me out more except for daddy long legs
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nice story (giving me crawling skin but nice story anyway
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Cralwig skin huh?π
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oh, sorry, more "creeping of the skin" (goosebumps) than "crawling", my english isn't very good, not my native language
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I knew what you meant
What's your native language?
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Malagasy, obviously
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I don't know what that is but Im going to go look it up
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Malagasy, from Madagascar, the country... 400km East of Africa, terribly depicted in a recent animated movie
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Oh your from Madagascar?
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yes indeed. you know someone here? or maybe plan to get here some day?
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No I don't know anyone there Unless you count King Julian βΊ
But it might be cool to visit but hear there's a cave birth of the island with giant centipedes 0.0
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Well I hope it isnt O.O
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The color palette is soft and pleasing, the details are sharp, nice composition, very interesting subject. This photo is great on so many levels.
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I'm curious to know your approach on some bugs (especially the fleeing ones
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Thank you so much!
I am more than willing to indulge your curiosity regarding certain shots. Just let me know which ones you want to know more about.
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the facing Stumpy (fav.me/dacygq7 )
the bee looking upward (fav.me/dabh1kn )
there's plenty more!! if you're ok, only share the general approach.
Mine is almost always the same ritual:
- sneak up from the left or right side of the bug, eye away from viewfinder first
- get the front lens and the encumbering diffuser about the minimum focus distance (eye still away from viewfinder)
- if the subject didn't flee already, put the eye on viewfinder and play with neck to focus
- struggle with shaking hands
- pray for the wind to stop blowing
- shoot
- try to get more angles (if the bug is okay with the idea
(i found that spiders are more akin to front shooting than insects)
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I should preface my comment with a warning: I have only been at macro photography since June 1st this year. So, I am still learning the fundamentals. Hopefully I am not giving you bad advice; it is just what has worked for me so far...
I have been using a 50mm prime + extension tubes instead of a dedicated macro lens. When I focus, I will not actually move the focus ring on the lens, but instead move the camera closer/further away from the subject. I will also use the display screen on the camera instead of the viewfinder so that I can pay attention to my surroundings, even though it is easier to guarantee proper focus through the viewfinder.
My keepers-to-stinkers ratio is about 1:20, so for every shot I post on DA, 20 will just clutter my hard-drive. This does not mean that I am blindly shooting, but it is indicative that there is a "luck" element to it. Given that there is a volume of shots that are required to get those keepers, I decide to spend my opportunities carefully. One of your steps is to "pray for the wind to stop blowing", and this is easily one of the biggest problems with macro. On a windy day, I will not even attempt macro photography. I only spend my chances where it counts: on a good day. This means, however, that with my schedule and weather, I may only get 2-3 days a week where macro is even a possibility.
I have an idea that a lot of insects will fear birds, and thus they will treat things above them as threats. You mentioned sneaking from the left or the right, but I am of the thinking that vertical orientation affects insects more. I always wear pants (even in the Summer heat) that can get dirty, because I will almost always be on my knees for a shot. I have been practicing a lot with dragonflies recently, and when I see one land, I will drop to my knees and slowly crawl up to it. It works a surprising amount of time.
If the insect flees, I will not pursue it. My thinking is that fight/flight has already kicked in and the subject will not cooperate after, so I will move on to the next subject in order to spend my chances elsewhere.
Grasshoppers are a challenge given my policy of moving on after they flee. If I don't get the shot by just parking the lens in front of the grasshopper, then it is simply over. Once they jump even a single time, I don't bother pursuing. I remember spotting "Stumpy" about a meter away from me in some tall grass. I immediately got as low to the ground as I could and crawled over to it. I recall being seated on the ground and "Stumpy" was about at eye-level. The grasshopper was positioned vertically on the grass, so I had to bend the blade of grass to take the picture (which is why my hand was in the background of the shot). "Stumpy" let me take 6 pictures before jumping away, with the first shot being the face of "Stumpy". Amazingly, "Stumpy" let me not only bend the grass it was sitting on, but also put the lens right in its face.
When I took "Looking upwards", I was completely seated on the ground as low as I could get. Whenever I spot wildflowers, I stop to see who pollinates it. I was originally trying to take a picture of a butterfly in this patch of yellow flowers. I was seated for several minutes attempting to photograph a butterfly when this bee landed on a flower right in front of me. Since the bee seemed captivated enough by the flower to ignore my presence, I decided to take some shots of the bee. I recall simply maintaining focus as the bee moved about the flower and waiting for an interesting pose. The bee let me take two pictures, the second one was the one where it looked up for just a brief moment.
I find that I am having good luck with a red shirt. I am not yet sure if it is coincidence, or that insects have trouble seeing the color red. A beekeeper told me that bees much prefer white clothing over black because the predators have dark fur. This is why beekeeper outfits are white in color. I am trying to figure out how much clothing plays a roll in the ability to approach insects.
I am completely willing to share everything I do to get my macro shots, so if you have more questions, please feel free to ask! I do love talking about it...
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I rely mostly on that luck for the majority of my shots, and sometimes I have only one or two look-able.
It might be strange, but going out and focusing on something else is enough for me, getting some good shots back home is a bonus
I will bother you with questions later, as now I know of your general approach, I can read your photos better.
Thanks again and have a good hunt!
Peace
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I totally get it when you say, "It might be strange, but going out and focusing on something else is enough for me, getting some good shots back home is a bonus". I have seriously spent hours of my life trying to photograph a Velvet Ant. These hours were spent squatted over wasp burrows in the unshaded heat, and all for one lackluster photo (fav.me/da9wnjd )... and yet, I have such beautiful memories of trying. I got to observe first-hand the feeding and mating behaviors of the Velvet Ant, and I witnessed her covering herself in dirt before entering wasp burrows (which is a behavior that I have not seen documented anywhere). Macro takes so much concentration that there is simply no room in my head for anything else. A decent photo is just icing on the cake for that kind of therapy.
Feel free to ask more questions, and I wish you a beautiful time discovering the wonders of Nature!
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Wish the same to you too.
(my next aim is to try to "hunt" at night time, some says there is another world waiting around
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OH. OOHH. We have some jumpers in poland but as far as I know none of them have legs like this. This is beautiful <3
I need to go somwhere faaaaaar away from home, i just need to "hunt"Β Β Β some amazing animals that do not live where I do.
I love all of your work, it's great. Cheers!
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most of those shots were taken in the garden, on walls, around the house, etc.
as i can't afford to travel frequently, i started looking around, they're everywhere!
it's also surprising to find different speciesΒ on the same spot,Β at different time of the day or different weather.
You have a very nice gallery too
Peace!
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Thanks, but i think all of the photos that i have are taken by phone or some cheap copmact camera 
Now that i got somehow decent camera (but still nothing too special
I too can't afford frequent of really far away travels, so most of my photos come from my garden too, or forest nearby.
But just how different are our gardens. I would love to switch gardens for at least one day Β
Thank you very much for the favesΒ Β Β Β and for watchΒ
And sorry for possible mistakes in my writing, you know, not my main language. But i'm trying
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Damn! O_o I think I've heard about many different spider species but I didn't know some of them have those legs! All jumping spiders have those kinds of legs?
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Most jumper species have longer anterior legs but not as visible as this one.
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Okay. Even if I'm afraid of spiders, I like them (maybe because of Spiderman)
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Thanks Willem, they are not so common here too.
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What an amazing capture - fantastic details!
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