I didn’t want to go somewhere, so I just took my cameras outside this morning to see what I could see with the macro lens.
I started with IR camera. I tried to look at some foliage/grasses on the ground, but the IR really only works when there is a sky (or something) that provides contrast to the scene., so I struggled to see anything in my viewfinder that was compelling until I noticed something that I had ignored thousands upon thousands of times until that moment. I lifted the camera, experimented with a few different compositions, and ultimately captured this graphic image that tickles my fancy.
Then it was time to get out the regular camera and aim for the easiest target: the spiders in shrubs in the front yard. I take pictures of these creatures every year and I seem to do better and better each time I try. I put together my walk-around macro setup with the speedlight, small flash-card, and a piece of office paper taped between the card and the camera to act as a diffuser. I pre-focused, closed the aperature, and started rocking back and forth on each scene while I tried to press the shutter at precisely the right time.
This image was my favorite. I could probably dodge and burn a bit more to bring the spider into highlights a bit more, because I think the eye is drawn to the brightness/saturation above the spider rather the subject itself, but I really like the swirling webbing and the golden spiral-like composition.