papilio's Ts

[papilio_]

Thanks very much CosbyArt!

How interesting that you should mention the color cast issue just now! I've always struggled with color, but even as we speak I am exchanging info and experience on the issue with Precarious who is, as he has said himself, especially sensitive to color cast in images. So I'd like to believe that with his help I'm finally getting a grip on color.

I've also been getting better WB in my RAW images since I've begun calibrating my camera with a WhiBal card. And lastly I've begun using Photo Ninja for RAW conversion. It's fairly young and has its problems, but its control over lighting ... exposure adjustment and tonal mapping ... is superb IMO. My old RAW converter, CaptureNX2, would invariably cause color casts when attempting to recover images which had been underexposed by more than a stop or so. Photo Ninja's ability to resurrect strongly underexposed images is a godsend to me, as I use a studio strobe (so no iTTL) and in zooming magnifications in and out as frequently as I do I don't generally take the time, especially when working with skittish (and often quite venomous) Ts, to adjust the exposure completely for each shot.

 

[CosbyArt]

Sure, your welcome. Well it shows you have been paying attention to detail, there is a marked improvement even between the last two sets of spider photos.

Sounds like you are getting a handle on it, the small things often make a huge difference on the final image. I understand not having the time to adjust the exposure - what little I play around taking shots of my mantis and she is all of the place (heck even focus is a issue with her). Best of luck and keep at it.

 

[papilio_]

I'm thrilled that you can tell the difference CosbyArt, and I genuinely appreciate the sort of feedback which you gave me very much!

(I should probably mention that those previous images were rather old, not a recent photo shoot ... just happened to be ones of a spider which I consider one of the prettiest of my Ts. )

 

[papilio_]

Here are some of the shots I took last night of my Pterinochilus murinus, Orange Baboon Tarantula or "OBT", though most often it's called Orange Bitey Thing. It's venom is not as serious as a Poecilotheria's but is said to be more painful than a rattlesnake bite, and it's generally considered an extremely defensive spider.

 

[dmina]

Ok.... that is a really "too close" picture... I just seen a lot of hair...and yellow color... another beautiful interesting photo shoot.. again not prepared... LOL

Note to self...Must read titles!

 

[CosbyArt]

Ha, looks like the spider most of the fake spiders, at least the ones with quality, are modeled after. A bite worse than a rattlesnake.. sounds like a pet that wouldn't ever leave it's habitat.

Great photos Papilio and interesting shoot with the mini skull, looks like you spend some time getting the spider in there.

 

[papilio_]

Ha, looks like the spider most of the fake spiders, at least the ones with quality, are modeled after. A bite worse than a rattlesnake.. sounds like a pet that wouldn't ever leave it's habitat.

Great photos Papilio and interesting shoot with the mini skull, looks like you spend some time getting the spider in there.

Thanks!

Hehe She's really quite docile if dealt with carefully. No trouble getting her into position either ... from the 32-oz cup which I used to carry her from her enclosure I just used my Q-tipped cattle prod and coaxed her under the skull from behind, then very gently nudged her forward till she was in a posture that I liked. Would have stayed there for quite a while, I had to give her another nudge (with my eye still behind the viewfinder) till she began walking forward and out of the skull's mouth.

Maybe I'm just lucky with the temperaments of all of the "defensive" Ts I have, but I've rarely had one bolt on me when trying to get it to pose.

 

[papilio_]

Here are some focus stacks of a 1-inch Nhandu coloratovillosus sling.

 

[papilio_]

Normally T slings aren't shipped until second instar, but a nearby friend recently hatched a sac of Avicularia versicolor and agreed to let me pick up some at first instar so that I could document the amazing 1i-2i molt.

 

[CosbyArt]

Crazy looking T's, never seen 1i or such. Looks like a gummy candy or something; especially, the first one.

Very pretty blue though.

 

[papilio_]

Crazy looking T's, never seen 1i or such. Looks like a gummy candy or something; especially, the first one.

Very pretty blue though.

Thanks CosbyArt! A. versicolors like these were the very first slings I ever raised. I know, EWLs and 1i slings always look like gummi spiders!

Here are some more shots of it, after it had darkened up a bit ...

 

[AshR]

Man do I want some versicolors. I had no idea they got that blue that fast.

 

[papilio_]

Man do I want some versicolors. I had no idea they got that blue that fast.

It really is quite astonishing! Little sparkly blue furballs. Versis were the very first slings I ever raised.

 

[papilio_]

My MinnVerts friend Scott brought this lovely Green Lynx, Peucetia viridans, over for a photo shoot. Taken at 5X through a Canon MP-E.
















Scott's timing was good, I had rented this little mirrorless Sony a7r for the weekend. A huge bonus to using this camera was the ability to attach my Canon MP-E65mm 1X-5X macro with full aperture functionality via the use of a Metabones adapter.

The Sony has the exact same (Sony made) 36Mpix sensor as my D800E, has no low-pass filter, and with the design of the Sony being considerably more current than the D800E I found its image quality to be marginally superior, displaying slightly increased definition and more subtle tonal gradients.





This is one of the first images I shot with the Sony, M. hydei at 5X.




Scott took several cell pics during the shoot. (Posted with permission)

 

[papilio_]

A. versicolor, 2i

 

[Precarious]

The new versi shots are so sharp! Looks like the new rig is working for ya. The blue hairs in the second shot are so vivid.

 

[papilio_]

The new versi shots are so sharp! Looks like the new rig is working for ya. The blue hairs in the second shot are so vivid.

Thank you Precarious! I never tire of shooting versis.