The amazing jumping spider
As many of you have probably figured out by now, spiders are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. Besides the fact that they are really cool looking, most species are usually easy to photograph. Once in awhile a particular spider gives me problems, but usually they pose very nicely. Lately, I have not found this to be the case with jumping spiders.
Jumping spiders, unlike many other types of spiders, have very good vision. They need this vision to be able to attack insects with their traditional jump. They tend to stay very still and then jump on top of their prey. Many other types of insects go more on scent or on vibrations. The result is jumping spiders are very aware of both me and the camera. This can make them rather tricky to photograph, as they often do not give me their better side. They also tend not to be very large, meaning I need to use a magnification of at least 3x to get them. The following is one of the better shots I have gotten of a jumping spider. Unfortunately it entered the house so Nelya squished it while I was putting my camera away.
Recently I had another opportunity to photograph these fascinating spiders. The results after the jump.