Micrathena Sagitatta: Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

In my last post, I talked about how I really wanted to get a chance to photograph some spiders.  I could not believe it but today I got my chance.  I went out in my backyard today, to start cleaning out a garden that we had just let get away from us over the last few years.  But as I started to trim back some of the branches off the bush in front of me, I saw two different Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders.  After some research I found out they were both females.  I managed a few good photographs, and I hope over the next few days I get a few more.  One of the spiders was rebuilding its web so I focused a lot of my time on that spider.  I just could not believe that these spiders have probably been in my backyard all summer.  To me they are some of the craziest looking spiders around here.  Ever since I photographed and wrote a post about them back in 2012, I had not really seen any.  (Link to 2012 Post)  Maybe I just was not looking hard enough.  Since then I have done some research a few times but I never posted anything about these spiders.  So I figured I would put a little information about them here.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Tamron 90 mm Macro Lens, ISO 400, f/2.8 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

What do they look like?

Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spiders are one of the smaller species of orb-weaving spider.  They are sexually dimorphic.  The males are smaller averaging around 0.5cm and females about 1.0 cm. (without including the legs)  The females have the more striking features and beautiful colors.  Both have the distinctive arrow shape, but the females are more pronounced.  The females also have additional small spikes on the abdomen near the thorax.

Web Structure:

The most interesting thing I did not know about them is that the web consists of two portions the frame and the orb.  The frame is a relatively permanent structure and some spiders will leave them up for days and weeks.  The orb however is built each day at dawn before being taken down in the evening.  When they take it down they consume it.  They also typically stay in the hole at the center of the orb where it hangs upside down waiting for its prey to wander into the web.  In my case because they were upside down the good side was facing into the bush.  So I had to climb in behind the bush and the brush to be able to get the shots.

Where are they located?

Micrathena Sagitatta is one of only three Micrathena spiders found in North America.  It is most common to the eastern half of the country.  Nationally it is found in nearly every state east of Kansas, and as far north as Maine.

Are they dangerous?

Most people who look these spiders up are rightly concerned as to whether these spiders are dangerous?  For the most part, they aren't dangerous to people.  They have venom that they use to paralyze and kill bugs, but their venom isn't strong enough to do the same to larger creatures.  The venom may be a concern for those who are allergic to it, but this is rare.  That said, the bite can be painful, so you should try and avoid accidentally sticking your hand into their web.

Even though these spiders are not really dangerous they do look quite scary.  Once you get past the fear of them they can be very interesting just to watch.  I hope over the next week I get some more opportunities to photograph them, and as I clean out the garden maybe I will find more interesting bugs.  Until next time.

Macro Photography: Historic Goshen Farm Maryland

In my last post, I talked about how I had just gotten back from a trip to Maryland to visit my sister.  If you have not had a chance to see it yet, click here.  The one evening, my family and I went to Historic Goshen Farm and Educational Center for an evening of music.  I am not much of a live music fan, but I was very interested in visiting their garden.  They had several gardens and an apiary.  The one garden was called the pollinator garden and it was full of all kinds of beautiful flowers.

Naturally this attracted a wide arraignment of insects.  There were a ton of bees.  Not just honey bees from the apiary, but also wasps, hornets, bumble bees, you name it and it was there.  I am always very unnerved by bees but I think if I hadn't gotten used to them buzzing around me I would not have gotten any photographs, because they were everywhere.  I did have this one blue colored wasp that was giving me a hard time.  Thankfully he moved on without stinging me.

In the pollinator garden and on the grounds, there were also a lot of different species of butterflies and moths.  Most prominent were the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Eastern Black Swallowtail.  Almost all my photographs of the Eastern Black Swallowtails came out to dark.  But I did capture some beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtails.  I just love the colors that they exhibit.

In the pollinator garden I also captured a couple photographs of a Bumble Bee on a Purple / Pink Coneflower.  I could be wrong but I believe that is what it was.  If you know what kind of flower it is you can comment the name down in the comments section.  The colors were just amazing in these photographs.  The other flowers in the background I think just make the bright red and pinks pop with the Bumble Bee as an added focus.  I think these are the best Bee photographs that I have ever taken.

Also, I was able to spot some Monarch Caterpillars, chomping away on Milkweed.  It had been a few years since I had seen one.  So it was quite remarkable to see so many in one garden.  I did not see any chrysalis yet, but it must be getting close to that time of year.

Overall the trip was a lot of fun and I think that I managed some great macro photographs from the trip.  I am looking forward to taking more Macro Photographs of insects while the summer lasts.  I would love to get some photographs of Jumping Spiders or just Spiders in general.  But I have a big fear of spiders and I normally try and keep my distance from them which typically results in less than stellar shots.  Furthermore I would like to try and photograph some more Dragonflies and Damselflies before the summer is over.  Fall is quickly approaching and then winter will be here soon.  Then I should get a good chance to test out my Sigma 150-600 mm lens on some flying eagles for the first time.  I can't wait.  Until Next Time.               

Alaska Time-lapse Video

During my last post I had mentioned that I had been working on putting together a video of some time-lapse that I had taken on my trip in Alaska.  I finally put them together and got them uploaded.  It took much longer than anticipated, but I am very happy with the result.

Ultimately, I decided that I should not be posting videos on my person account.  So I created a YouTube brand account where I could post everything related to my wildlife photography blog.  I decided to keep the name the same as my blog: Aaron Smith Wildlife Photography.  I had to re-upload my previous video to the new account and upload the new one as well.  From now on I will post all my videos on the new channel.

The new video is a compilation of time-lapses that I took on the cruise ship in Alaska.  I had taken a few time-lapse sequences in the evenings when we were leaving port cities.  Because it was a moving ship, they seem much faster than the previous video I had taken.  You can also see when the ship speed was changing and also some movement up and down due wave action.  So, the time-lapse's were very different than my previous time-lapse when the camera was completely still.

I had planned on doing some wildlife photography during last weekend but I did not really get many photographs.  Then this week came and went like a whirlwind, and I took a trip to Maryland to see my sister.  So I have not had to much time to photograph anything.  But while I was in Maryland I did visit a historic gardens area and there were more butterflies their than I have ever seen in one place.  I did not have a lot of time once we arrived but I am hopeful that I captured a few good shots.  There were also a lot of beautiful flowers and plenty of bees.  I am hoping to post more about those photographs once I get a chance to look them over on my computer.

I hope everyone enjoys the time-lapse sequences from my trip.  Until Next Time.             

Local Wildlife and Alaska Trip Continued

Over the last week or so, I have not taken too many new photographs. I have spent a lot of my free time fishing with my brother, and I have also been working on going through more photographs and videos from my Alaska trip. I’m hoping that I will be able to put out the time lapse videos in the next post. I am trying something new with them and I have never edited videos before. I have two time lapse videos that I took on the cruise. They are different then the first one I did because I was on a moving boat during these. So there was a lot more motion because of the movement of the boat. But I’m hoping they will be interesting enough.

On several occasions I took my camera with me when I was fishing, but I only managed to take about 100 photographs during those trips. I did manage to photograph a rabbit the one night, but it was getting quite dark. The photograph has a lot of noise in it, but I still wanted to post it. I also spent some time trying my luck at macro photography. I was using my Canon 6d mark ii with my fathers Tamron 90mm macro lens. I did struggle some to get parts of the tiny critters in focus. The auto focus on the lens can be a bit weird, and it does not always want to work the way you would hope. So I used a lot of manual focus towards the end of my macro session. I did manage a couple of photographs. I did like the photograph I managed of a bumble bee, and I also had some luck with dragonflies.

My plan is to spend some time this weekend out and trying to get some wildlife photographs. I will most likely head out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area or some other local areas. Hopefully I will be able to get there around the time when the sun is coming up. I would love to photograph wildlife in some great lighting. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

During the last week I started to go through the pictures I captured on my cell phone during my Alaska trip. I took a lot of photographs on my iPhone, and I figured some would be good. I know the mega pixel count is lower but it was really the only chance I had to capture some of the areas. Because almost all the photographs were taken on the buses, trains, planes, and boats through the windows. So I had to shoot through glass and I figured my cell phone would be easier to press up against the glass to try and minimize glare. I did manage to catch some amazing scenery, so I wanted to share them. So all the pictures below were taken with my iPhone.

I hope everyone enjoys the photographs. Until next time.

Alaska Cruise

Seward Alaska
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to Alaska.  It was even more awe-inspiring and beautiful than the pictures and videos I had seen.  I don’t think that photographs and videos could really capture some of the amazing places that I got to see.  Even though I truly enjoyed my trip I am not sure that I would take another cruise.  There were some aspects of the cruise that I did not enjoy.  I was very happy that I did not experience any sea sickness. I however was not a fan of the small amount of time you have off the cruise ship.  I believe that I would have preferred to spend more time in each location.  I also did not like the fact that it seems like their main goal on the cruise ship is to separate you from as much money as possible.  It was just really annoying.  I went to Alaska to escape and enjoy nature, but sometimes it was very hard to because there were so many people in the ports.  In every port there was at least 2 cruise ships,  which made it extremely crowded.  I believe that I would rather go somewhere where it is away from the cruise ships and more isolated.  But this trip was by far the most incredible views that I have ever seen, and it was an absolutely amazing vacation.

My plan for the next few posts is to break down everything I got to experience on my trip, and all the wildlife that I did get to see.  I don’t plan on including the travel day to anchorage, or the travel day out of Vancouver.  They were rather uneventful days.  I hope everyone enjoys seeing the pictures and hearing the stories.

Leaving Seward Alaska
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 100, f/11 @ 1/50s Manual exposure

Day 1:  Anchorage Alaska to Seward Alaska

The first day I boarded a bus at the hotel and took a very lovely trip down route 1, along the Turnagain Arm.  It was very different than anything I had ever experienced.  They have very large tidal changes, and the tide was out while we drove by.  Also the water is filled with silt due to the glacial runoff, and that gave the water a very distinct color.  The road for the most part parallels train tracks and the water.  Due to it being my first time experiencing Alaska I believe that I was just in shock at how beautiful the views were.  It was a long bus ride but it passes very quickly because of the amazing views.  I just didn’t want the ride to end.  Basically, you are at sea level and looking across the bay, with huge snow-capped mountains in the background.  Your eyes are constantly hunting for the next view, or the next animal to show itself.  I did see a lot of bald eagles along the shore fishing, but I get to experience that a lot at home.

A little further along on the bus trip we passed through Portage.  We crossed a couple of bridges, and the driver let us know that coming up on the left side a humpback whale had gotten stuck on the shore and died, within a couple of days.   There were a lot of eagles around but I did not see any bears at the time.  It was a unique experience, but I would much rather see them alive.  It did however, give everyone a reminder about how harsh and unforgiving Mother Nature can be.
   
Once we arrived in Seward, we boarded the cruise ship.  That night around 7 pm we departed from the port and I spent a lot of time on the upper deck photographing the views.  I did manage a glimpse at a Humpback whale while leaving the port, but no one else seemed to see it.  I thought maybe I was seeing things at that point.  But later on in the trip I did point out whales and other wildlife and other people confirmed my sightings.

Headed out to Sea
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 100, f/11 @ 1/30s Manual exposure

Day 2:  Out to sea and the Hubbard Glacier

When I awoke on day 2, as far as the eye could see there was nothing but water.  For the majority of that day there was just vast empty seas.  While at dinner that night, I pointed out two Killer Whales outside the window.  Everyone around was very excited to see them.

Hubbard Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/250s Manual exposure

After dinner the ship was arriving at the Hubbard glacier.  The problem was, that it was raining and the fog was very thick.  I spent several hours up on the upper decks trying to photograph anything.  It was quite a scary experience because you cannot help but think about the Titanic, as you hit small chunks of ice and they bang off the ship.  You are basically driving though an ice pack on your way up to the glacier.  With the visibility so low, we had to get very close to the glacier just to be able to see it.  From where we were you could not even see the top of the glacier, it was just pure fog.  During our pass by the glacier, chunks of the glacier broke off about 8 to 10 times.  I did my best to capture pictures of this happening.  I know that glaciers are melting, but I did not think I would see the glacier give way that many times in a short duration.  I think that maybe because it was raining, or because the ship got so close, that might have caused more to break loose.  None of the other glaciers that I saw on the trip had anything break loose while I was there.  Although the weather was not great for viewing the glacier it was still a wonderful experience.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

Day 3: Icy Straight Point and Hoonah Alaska

Icy Straight Point, was the first and only time that we had to tender to the dock from the cruise ship, because there was another cruise ship in port.  It was not that hard though.  You basically just get on smaller vessels and they take you to the dock.   Due to there being two ships in port it made Icy Straight Point very crowded.  They only have one welcoming building and it was packed full of people trying to get to their excursions.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

Our first excursion of the day was a whale watching tour.  This was one of the best tours on the entire trip.  We got to see a lot of different wildlife and it just made for a great day.  Some of the species that we got to see on the trip were humpback whales, sea lions, sea otters, harbor seals, bald eagles, porpoises, and a lot of gulls and terns.  I did manage a few photographs of the humpback whales, a sea lion, and a harbor seal.  For a while we were next to a mother and calf humpback whale.  Which I had not experienced in a long time.  The first time I saw humpback whales was in Maine when I was a child.  There were also a lot of sea lions hanging around with the whales.  I missed a few opportunities at close ups of the smaller animals because they got so close to the boat that I could not shoot through the other people on the boat.  For most of this trip I did not get a position along the rail of the boat.  So I was shooting over the top of most of the people.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

In the afternoon after the whale tour, we took a bus out into the wilderness for our bear tour.  We did not manage to see any bears, but we did see some Sitka Black-tailed Deer and a Red Headed Woodpecker.  Overall, the wildlife on this tour were so far away that I could not even manage a picture with my 600 mm lens.  The coolest thing that we saw during this walk was the amazing little trees.  The walkway crosses through forest and almost boggy like terrain.  Their growth was stunted due to the harsh conditions, but some were hundreds of years old.  After we got back to the bus I realized that I should have been photographing the trees, but I guess I was just too intent on seeing a bear.  So I really had nothing to show for this trip.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 125, f/6.3 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

Day 4: Juneau Alaska

Mendenhall Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 320, f/11 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

In Juneau the first excursion we were on was a trip to the Mendenhall Glacier.  The bus ride out was rather enjoyable, and we saw a lot of bald eagles along the route.  The only problem was due to the time crunch we only had about 45 minutes to enjoy the glacier.  I wish we could have had more time to enjoy the views.  The other cool thing was, that it was not very busy when we arrived.  So it was relatively peaceful, until a little later after more buses arrived.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 200, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Since the area around was on the water, there was a lot of wildlife around as well.  At one point I went off alone and somehow got away from other people.  I had a barn swallow land on a wooden railing in front of me.  It was quite a cool experience because the same bird had been dive bombing other peoples heads who had been around.  But once I was alone and relatively still and quite, he came and landed right next to me.  He stayed there and stared straight at me.  He didn’t seem to mind me at all though because he did not fly off, even while I changed lenses to my 150-600 mm sigma lens.  It seemed like he was curious about me.  I managed a few photographs of him before a noisy group of people came over to take a picture in front of the view.  They were just so oblivious, that they didn’t seem to care about how much noise they were making and the swallow flew off.  It was a very cool experience and I had never seen a swallow with colors like his.  He was just an absolutely beautiful bird.

From there we took the bus back to the Mount Roberts Tramway.  We were rather disappointed with this excursion.  Due to the crazy long lines we did not get a lot of time at the top of the mountain to see the view.  We also did not get to walk many of the trails, so it is possible that we missed the best views.  But from the main area the best view is blocked by the Tramway building.  The most disappointing part was the wait to get on the Tram.  We waited in line over an hour and a half just to get up the mountain.  There were 5 cruise ships in Juneau on the day we were there, so it was extremely crowded.  Once we arrived at the top of the mountain we basically had to wait in another line to come back down.  We waited about 45 minutes to come back down the mountain.  The ride up and the ride back down, each take about 6 minutes, and that is the best part.  At least from what we were able to do, due to the time crunch to get back to the cruise ship.

Headed Towards Dawes Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 160, f/11 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

Seal Pup and Mother
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 320, f/11 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

After leaving Juneau in the early afternoon, we traveled to the Dawes Glacier.  Near the glacier I spotted a harbor seal pup and mother near an iceberg.  I did manage a photograph but it was basically directly below the cruise ship.  I was on the 13th deck so they were very small, and the angle was terrible.  But I think it still made for an interesting photo.

Dawes Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/8 @ 1/160s Manual exposure

Dawes Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/8 @ 1/160s Manual exposure

Cliffs near Dawes Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 640, f/11 @ 1/200s Manual exposure

Waterfall near Dawes Glacier
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 1600, f/13 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Day 5: Skagway Alaska

In Skagway we had also booked two excursions.  The first excursion was the White Pass railway.  I would highly recommend this trip to everyone.  The views from the train are stunning and unreal.   Most of the photographs from the train I took through the glass with my smartphone but I still had a blast.  I never wanted this ride to end because it was just spectacular.

Yukon Bus Overlook
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 160, f/5 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

Once we arrived in Canada, the train was checked by border patrol for a few minutes and then we boarded our bus, which met us at the top of the mountain.  From there we were on our way to the Yukon Suspension Bridge.  Once we arrived at the Suspension Bridge we hopped off the bus and walked through the gate.  We had about an hour to see the views which seemed like enough.  The trails are short and when you get off the bus you are basically almost on the bridge.  This is another excursion I would highly recommend because the views were beautiful.  Also they had a shop with some food and souvenirs.  If you are scared of heights you might be scared to get on the shaky extension bridge, but it is well worth it.  The excursions that we took in Skagway were the best from the trip, and the views topped everything that we saw on the trip.  When you are leaving the Suspension bridge they will also stamp your passport if you would like.  So it was the first stamp in my passport.  On our way back to Skagway on the bus, we saw a yearling black bear.  It was jumping over a guardrail and seemed like it wanted food from the passerby.   Which is disappointing because it probably means that someone had fed it in the past.  It was the only bear that I got to see in Alaska.

Yukon Suspension Bridge
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 400, f/11 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

Yukon Suspension Bridge
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 500, f/11 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

Yukon Suspension Bridge
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 50, f/11 @ 1/25s Manual exposure

Day 6: Ketchikan Alaska and Misty Fjords

New Eddystone Rock
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 1250, f/11 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

In Ketchikan our excursion was a boat trip out to the Misty Fjords.  The trip there is long, but they gave out soup and local smoked salmon to try.  They also sell food on the boat.  On the trip the scenery was amazing.  On the way out to the Misty Fjords you stop to view an active bald eagle nest.  Also, you will pass by New Eddystone Rock, which is a volcanic spire rising out of the water.  You also, will see plenty of other wildlife in the Bay including whales, seals, sea lions, porpoises, and eagles.  Also on our way to the fjords we experienced about 3 to 4 different rainbows.  It was raining, but also sunny in the distance, which led to the rainbows.  Once at the fjords you will be boating quite close to the near 3,000 foot vertical cliffs and waterfalls.  Due to the depth of the water they can get really close to the walls.  The only problem was that it was pouring rain when we arrived at the fjords.  So I was having to shoot a few pictures and then head for cover.  Due to all the rain though, the waterfalls were running great.  We were told that not everyone would get to see them running like they were.  It was a stunning view.  I just wish I could have captured more pictures.

Waterfall at Misty Fjords
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 6400, f/8 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

Rainbow headed towards Misty Fjords
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 160, f/8 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

Day 7: Out to sea

Day seven was spent mostly out in the ocean as the ship headed towards Vancouver, British Colombia.  The next morning we departed the cruise ship and took a bus tour of Vancouver.  This was not a great trip.  The first part was beautiful, as they took you through Stanley Park.  It had some amazing Redwood trees which made the start of the trip very cool to experience.  But the rest of the tour was of the city of Vancouver and it did not interest me.  Also we were not scheduled to leave Vancouver until the next day, and the problem was that the tour was dropping you off at the airport.  So be careful if you book this, because you will need to get transportation to your hotel.  It turned out to be less of a problem than we thought, because we went to the bus stop and the first shuttle was going to our hotel.  So we jumped in and went to the hotel.  The next day we departed from the hotel and took the morning flight out.

Mountains in the distance
Canon EOS 6D Mark II & Canon 24-105 mm f/3.5 - f/5.6 Lens, ISO 125, f/11 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

Overall the trip was remarkable and I would love to go back to Alaska. The trip lived up to most of my expectations and then some.  I did not get to see a brown bear, so I know that I will have to head back one day, hopefully soon.  I have other places I would like to visit, but Alaska will always be on my list.  I hope this post was informative, and if you plan on taking an Alaskan cruise please read about some of the excursions and my experiences on them.  Until Next Time.