Spider Minimalism
The simplicity of spiders can be compelling, as I try to show here in two versions each for these two images. In this instance a dewy thread was strung high above the patio, catching the morning light.
I put part of a nearby bush in the corner of the first shot, and of the neighbour’s distant roof line in a corner of the second shot. I like the first shot better, but probably the last image in the post is my favourite of these four.
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Canon EOS 5D MkII, Canon 100mm/f2.8 macro lens, ISO200, f-3.2, 1/640th (1st) and 1/6400th (2nd) Processed in Lightroom 4 and Topaz B&WEffects.
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burnt embers 
I love that first shot – the half moon highlight is the perfect offset to that gleaming thread. Superb, Ehpem
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Hi Andy! Thanks so much.
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Beautiful colours. Simplicity itself.
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Thanks Emily!
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Fantastic!
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Hi Steve, thanks for the visit and comment! Glad you like the photos.
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I love the first and last. They are beautiful!
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Thank you Karen! I am finding there is somethign very contemplative about such simple shots. Lacking in distractions, but worthy of some looking. It is something I will be trying more of, if I can learn how to do it when I want to, or at least to recognise the opportunities when they arise.
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I like the red one – the way the web goes from bright to dim reminds me of a shooting star, or a comet.
But the blue one is my favorite – the color is calming.
(Or, based on the article you send me the other day, I supposed I should have spelled it “colour”.)
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I flip flop on my favourite, maybe because the blue is calming, and the yellow/orange not. They are a bit like shooting stars and comets. I have a contrail shot in my queue that is even more so.
I recently noticed how many of these diagonal lines are showing up in my blog, and went out yesterday to deliberately shoot some – you know, by tilting the camera a bit, which normally I don’t do (on purpose). Not sure if any worked out since I got distracted by other photos I took and have not tried processing them yet. And I tilted the camera the wrong way so have had to flip them just to make them feel right, which is all the processing I had time for.
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An interesting thing to do would be go out somewhere that’s familiar and shoot everything with a tilted camera – I think it might make us (or me, anyway) see things a lot differently. Maybe THAT’S what I can do tomorrow.
I look forward to seeing what you came up with on your own tilted-camera expedition.
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Well, I did go somewhere familiar – along the ocean edge. It was foggy so there was a bright sky and darker water and a distinct line between, and very little else. Nice and simple. But, I still haven’t done anything with those shots. Must get on it…
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The last is my favorite, too, but it’s a very nice series. The last looks like a color overlay on the first one. The technician in me is always trying to figure out how it’s done.
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Thanks Ken. All of them are made by processing first in LR4 – some sharpening, enriching the blue sky a bit (with less luminance as I recall), upping the contrast a bit, and so on. Then they are run through Topaz B&W Effects – I use the presets to get close to what I want, do some minor adjustments with those controls and then, if necessary, finish them off with light tweaks in LR. It is actually smooth and quick. Same process, and some of the same presets as I used with the Coho ferry mast shots from a couple of weeks ago http://wp.me/p1R4lY-4Ue.
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Oh! Oh! These are wonderful, ehpem! The first one I like best and very much.
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Why thank you Ashley! Spiders have a genius in the garden that is waiting to be recognised, every single day.
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Indeed.
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I love these!
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Thank you Roselinde, and welcome to my blog!
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