Bronze Lake Jumper (Female) - Eris militaris

This little lady had a huge meal in her grasp. Sadly, I scared her, she dropped her prey, and jumped off the fence. I was traumatized for traumatizing her, so I picked up her prey, chased her down, and gave it back to her. Phew!

Habitat: On a fence near a pond

comments (5)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Nice story :) I'm seeing 2 light sources, already using a dual flash? Posted 6 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks :)
  
  This was in a dark spot, so I used a combo of headlamp and camera flash (diffused). I still couldn't get the lighting right though. Most shots were too dark or else way too bright. And, the colors aren't right. I don't know the correct term, but the color is too bland and flat. In reality, the colors were richer. This was a super windy day as well, which didn't help with focus. I am dissatisfied with this shot, but love jumping spiders and this one was so adorable holding her snack. Posted 6 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Well, I think overall the shot is fine in the sense that it's an interesting subject that is hard to properly focus on, and you did nail focus in difficult circumstances. That's a big win.
    
    As for color, it did not notice it being off, but I obviously don't know how the original scene was. You probably are referring to color temperature (white balance), the original scene being warmer. This scene is tricky to reason about regarding white balance, since you have 3 light sources that each have a different color temperature. Probably the dominant light (flash) is slightly cold. Shortcut is to just try the difference white balance presets until you find one you like. If you can't find a match, and kind of knowing your style and taste, enter a custom color temperature between 6500 and 7000K. In most scenes, this is a small range from neutral to slightly warm, but not so warm as to make it look unnatural.
    
    Posted 6 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      Thanks so much for the tips. I will try what you suggested...I like the photos to look as accurate as possible, but do favor slightly warm color. Although, I find it annoying when my shots turn out too cold or too warm. You are nudging me out of my "let the camera do all the work" comfort zone, but that's a good thing, so thanks :). Posted 6 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        You're welcome! I too prefer the style neutral to slightly warm. It's fine to leave the camera do as much work as it can, yet to only intervene if that fails. Color temperature is not something you can fix for a JPEG afterwards, so unfortunately this is one of those things to get right in the camera.
        
        But not that big of a deal. I wouldn't worry about it too much per photo, you may want to optimize it for the session as a whole. Posted 6 years ago

The Bronze Jumping Spider

"Eris militaris" is a species of jumping spider, belonging to the Salticidae family. It is found in the United States and Canada within both suburban and rural areas. The male and female of this species can be differentiated from their size or by the coloration on their cephalothorax and abdomen.

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Similar species: Spiders

Species identified by Christine Young