The eyes of some spiders can be induced to produce "eye shine" with a flash light. This is best known in wolf spiders, but some other kinds of spiders can produce it too. For a while I have been trying to photograph this effect. It is funny, perhaps, but I have yet to see pictures online that capture the general creepiness of this effect. I have not been able to find wolf spiders lately, so my results so far are with funnel web spiders. Here are two examples.
Shelob 2 by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Shelob 1 by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
To do this, I collected a funnel web spider (probably
Agelenopsis sp.) that had made her web on the top of a plant in our garden. It was a simple manner to take the top of the plant inside, with web and spider, and set it up on our dining room table. There, in darkness, I found I could get eye shine by directing a flashlight at the eyes while I found the camera settings that would give the look that I wanted. In the end, these pictures are each made from two pictures. One showing the spider in gloomy light, and another at a different exposure that yielded the eye shine. I then copied and pasted the glowing eyes onto the gloomy picture.
The subject was amazingly patient! She would just sit, absolutely still, while I fussed with the camera and lights at very close range.
A bit early for Halloween, but that won’t really happen this year anyway. I am reminded of the story in
Lord of the Rings where the plucky Hobbits encounter a giant spider named
Shelob. Here is a passage: " There age-long she had dwelt, an evil thing in spider form...”
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
The eyes of some spiders can be induced to produce "eye shine" with a flash light. This is best known in wolf spiders, but some other kinds of spiders can produce it too. For a while I have been trying to photograph this effect. It is funny, perhaps, but I have yet to see pictures online that capture the general creepiness of this effect. I have not been able to find wolf spiders lately, so my results so far are with funnel web spiders. Here are two examples.
Shelob 2 by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
Shelob 1 by
Mark Sturtevant, on Flickr
To do this, I collected a funnel web spider (probably
Agelenopsis sp.) that had made her web on the top of a plant in our garden. It was a simple manner to take the top of the plant inside, with web and spider, and set it up on our dining room table. There, in darkness, I found I could get eye shine by directing a flashlight at the eyes while I found the camera settings that would give the look that I wanted. In the end, these pictures are each made from two pictures. One showing the spider in gloomy light, and another at a different exposure that yielded the eye shine. I then copied and pasted the glowing eyes onto the gloomy picture.
The subject was amazingly patient! She would just sit, absolutely still, while I fussed with the camera and lights at very close range.
A bit early for Halloween, but that won’t really happen this year anyway. I am reminded of the story in
Lord of the Rings where the plucky Hobbits encounter a giant spider named
Shelob. Here is a passage: " There age-long she had dwelt, an evil thing in spider form...”
The eyes of some spiders can be induced to produce... (
show quote)
Great images!!! Mark
Your post had me wondering where you found your subject at first I thought you very brave or stupid.
I didn't know there were funnel Web spiders in the U.S. until I googled it
Live and learn, my lesson for the day.
Mark, I have a picture very similar to that except only one of the eyes looked like a bright spot but I used the clone stamp tool to cover it up.
Manglesphoto wrote:
Great images!!! Mark
Your post had me wondering where you found your subject at first I thought you very brave or stupid...
Why can't I be both? 😅.
Funnel web spiders around here refer to a couple families that make a sheet web, tapering to a funnel shaped retreat. They are shy in nature but also exceedingly common. I can find at least a dozen in my yard. The funnel web spiders of Australia are of course not to be messed with so casually.
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
Why can't I be both? 😅.
Funnel web spiders around here refer to a couple families that make a sheet web, tapering to a funnel shaped retreat. They are shy in nature but also exceedingly common. I can find at least a dozen in my yard. The funnel web spiders of Australia are of course not to be messed with so casually.
Lol, What ever trips your trigger
Mark Sturtevant, If one is a Creationist Fundamindelist then your photos put God's aesthetics in question, although, The Book of Genesis may have parts missing or censored by one of the Popes... "On the 7th day, a day of rest and having fun, God created "Halloween" and made many things to scare other creatures, one being spiders"
To keep children in line when they have misbehaved, projecting your second photo on the ceiling would be an attitude adjustment tool... YIKES! In fact, this second photo projected on the side of your house will deter trick/Treat visits on Halloween night.
Now that's Halloween scary..!
Taking a beautiful spider and making her creepy--Shame on you. You did it so well though that I just have to forgive you. Wonderful shots.
Marvelous, Mark! Check those impressive curved fangs up front! I like photographing spiders also. They're effective predators, and I'm careful not to hurt them because they do consume the true pests around the house. With the wolf spiders I've had the privilege to observe under live view magnification with a macro lens, I would actually see those smaller eyes roll back and forth while I'm trying to grab focus manually. It's really a treat to study them on the macro level.
NMY
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.