The Wasp Spider
There’s no mistaking what species of spider this is. The Wasp spider must rank as one of the prettiest arachnids on the British Isles. 1/1000s 105mm F3.5 ISO 200 Thirteen Image Focus Stack.
I’d certainly be lying if I were to say I am an avid gardener and so subsequently I don’t spend a lot of time photographing things in the garden, even though it is literally on my back doorstep. That’s not to say there are never interesting things to photograph either, there’s plenty of small macro subjects for those who keep an eye out for them. But recently something extra special appeared that had me dusting off my 105mm macro lens, a wasp spider. There’s really no mistaking what this is with its vibrant and striking yellow and black markings. It’s not a small spider either, something that makes it stand out even more in the UK. Whilst historically common across the rest of Europe, it is a recent arrival here, with sizable numbers first observed in the mid-2000s. Thankfully it’s still harmless to humans so there’s no need to worry about Australian-style horror stories.
A close-up view of the underside which also has striking yellow markings. Perhaps it is very effective in warding off predators such as birds. 1/1000s 105mm F3.8 ISO 200 Twenty-one Image Focus Stack.
The spider had positioned itself in a tricky position and it was difficult for me to setup my tripod in good places whilst not disturbing it or the web. Like an increasing number of digital cameras, my Nikon D850 has built-in focus stacking, which makes it so much simpler for creating good macro images. However, the one drawback is that having certain features switched on causes the mode to be greyed-out in the menu and without clear instructions as to why, it was a real headscratcher for five minutes. In the end it turned out I had to take the camera off timer mode. A lesson learned for next time, don’t make the same mistake I did!
I created two images, a front consisting of thirteen individual images and the rear consisting of twenty-one. It took many attempts to get it right as the wind was blowing the web around during my capturing runs. On the computer I blended them together in Photoshop, which works well enough for casual focus-stackers such as myself, although I know there are much better alternatives for those who do this more seriously. These images aren’t exactly going to win me Nature Photographer of the Year, but it was satisfying all the same to do a type of photography I’ve thoroughly neglected for the entirety of this year. I’ll definitely keep my eyes peeled if another great opportunity arises, but admittedly I should make more of an effort to search for them.
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