UNDER CONSTRUCTION

This shot is more about the web than the spider. This is the best shot of a spider web I’ve been able to get so far. The interesting part for me was to watch the spider actually construct its web. It was like a well- choreographed dance going between the cross-fibers – one to the right, back to the left, then a little twist; then go one further to the right and repeat. Back and forth, all its feet were involved in tying the ring fibers to the cross-fibers to make this geometric pattern. (Easier to see this rhythm when it was working on the larger rings.) I think a spider web like this is a beautiful creation. I’d never seen the construction underway until today – it was quite a special experience!

The web is a little larger than you see here and is attached to deck and a few hosta leaves. The spider started from the outside going in. Then at a certain point, it moved to the center to build from the inside out.

As for the photo itself, I’d forgotten to adjust the ‘exposure compensation’, so the spider is blown out. I didn’t realize it until the shots were downloaded, and by then my lighting was gone.