Most of the small critters were hard to find that day, but I did find some interesting things.  This one I found rather cute and it looks almost like the worm is introducing himself!

I also found a small sprout emerging from a crack and took a number of pictures of it.  Of the shots, I think I like the composition in this one the best.

Still, this probably would have been a better shot with a tripod and long exposure.  I’m not sure I like the effect of the flash here.

This one looks sort of like the insect (not quite sure if it is a mosquito or a midge) is taking a stroll…

I also found a rather large spider in a pile of wood.  Spiders are usually rather easy to get pictures of and this one obliged.  At first I rather liked this picture but it bugs me that one of the palps is hidden behind the leg.

Therefore when I sent the shots out for criticism I used this one instead.

In this shot the palps are balanced better and the spider looks more “natural” in its environment.  I’m not sure either of these are really great shots though – although they have freaked a few people out.

Still, I felt that the efforts for the day were quite successful and with daylight hours getting longer and the weather getting warmer, I have a feeling this will be a great year for photography.

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As I mentioned yesterday, there were tons of springtails.  However, there was a lot more to see with some patience.  The first thing that I was able to get a decent shot of was a tiny spider.

This spider was so tiny that I needed to take this shot at 5x.  It is so far the smallest spider that I have captured.  I actually have seen this spider multiple times before, but it tends to be rather quick and does not like being left in the open.  Therefore until this day I was not able to get a good shot of it.  Unfortunately I have really no idea what species it is.  My insect books cover spiders but I was not able to find this spider there.  I really need to find a good book on identifying spiders some day.  I would be curious to know what spiders this small eat, as even springtails seem to be a large snack.

I found a piece of wood that was laying over a fountain no longer in use and turned it over.  At first I didn’t see much, but after looking closely I wound up photographing different critters on it for the next half hour.  I kind of like the following shot, though in retrospect I think I should have framed it better.  At the time I was focusing my attention on the woodlouse and I didn’t notice the snail until it began to turn away.

I’d be curious for others’ opinions on this shot, as it sort of looks like they are checking each other out.  This woodlouse was a bit smaller than the ones I normally find, though I don’t believe I had to go to 5x to get the shot.

I found several very small moths in the area, including several on the piece of wood.  This is one of the shots I got of one.

Unfortunately some of the details are a bit blown out on it.  I’ll need to try to mask it and bring some of the details back.  This was one very small moth, and again I have no idea what species it may be.  I looked through my insect books but I was unable to find a definitive match.  I think though for the next all white subject I will need to adjust the flash compensation a bit to not blow out the details so much.

Another subject I found was a tiny see through worm.

As little I know about insects, I know even less about worms, so I won’t even try to guess what species this may be.  Still, I think it is rather cool how you can literally see right through it.  From the naked eye I thought this may be some egg at first, but when I looked at it in the camera I realized that it was a small worm.  I wish I knew more about worm anatomy to say what those little things through it are.

My final subject for this session was a tiny spider.

I really need to get a good spider book, as I was not able to find this species either.  In general it seems that the smaller species are underrepresented in the literature because most people do not notice them.  Still, I was rather surprised with the diversity I found in an area that initially seemed lifeless.

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