Shooting Recluses….

The Brown Recluse spider goes by a number of other names: Fiddleback Spider, Violin Spider and so on. It is of the family Sicariidae  and is usually of the species Loxosceles reclusa. This family of spiders has six eyes, and the genus Loxosceles is known for the pattern of the violin on the dorsal side of the carapace. The photo above demonstrates both of these traits well. Most known for their necrotic bite, these guys should not be meddled with unless you are somewhat expert at handling dangerous arachnids. Fortunately, I am…..

This image was taken with the Canon 65mm 1-5X Macro lens, having a Canon MT-24EX attached. No diffusers were employed, as this spider is not very reflective. These are fairly mobile and skittish spiders, so great care must be taken when setting them up. You can probably see that this was shot on carpet – the interesting thing being that this is where I found it! Most unusual for one of these to be in a house; they are usually found outside under stones, but this one was in a small cabin in which I was staying (shooting hummingbirds!).

Historically, if I had my old Canon F1N, 200mm F4 Macro FD lens, Cokin Flash, I would have shot a roll of film (bracketing) to ensure I had a good exposure, sharp focus and reasonable composition. No LCD panels on the back of a camera back then, and using manual flash was prone to irregularity and disappointment. In this case though, a quick setup with TTL engaged, and 3 images into the shoot I had this one and was satisfied. The Loxosceles reclusa was then carefully transferred back outside to where she belonged.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 30th, 2011 at 12:17 am. It is filed under Featured, Macro. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.