Spider in the Garden

Canon EOS 7D

f5.6

1/1600 sec.

ISO 160

EFS 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS @ 135mm

When I started writing this blog I didn’t actually think anyone was ever going to see it, let alone read it. However, just 3 months down the line I’ve had just fewer than 580 page views from countries around the world. This may not be a massive number but it’s made me pretty stoked about it! It is quite a rewarding feeling to see that people are looking at the pictures I take and reading about my experiences and opinions on things. I think that for me this blog has just become something of a hobby. I really enjoy posting on it when I get the chance, although I must admit that lately I have been a little lazy and also really busy. It’s hard to find the time to get out and about and find interesting things to photograph that I can also write about. After about 10 days of not posting I get really angry with myself as I always say that I’m going to do more and rush out with my camera on the look out for something cool. I must say that it can be really irritating!!

So last Wednesday I went off to Kirstenbosch Gardens with Joss for a walk and a change of scenery. Cape Town really is amazing for that. The hustle and bustle of the city can easily be left behind with a twenty minute car journey out towards Kommetjie, Hout Bay, or any other direction in fact. It’s something that I love. Kirstenbosch is a closer option but a great one none the less.

Although it is a little pricey to get in, it really is a beautiful place. Once entering you are greeted by lush gardens and sprawling lawns which stretch out across the park. A maze of pathways guides you through different areas of flora and in some cases fauna. We came across a mass of spider webs all stitched together in one shady corner under some trees. In the middle of each web hung what are called Golden Orb Spiders. Joss naturally felt uncomfortable as girls seem to do when faced with huge crawling insects. Female Golden Orb Spiders can grow 15 to 30 cms apparently… pretty big for a spider. Whilst Joss took cover I got closer to try and get some good shots of them hanging around; continuously waiting for insects to fly into their webs of death. The sign said that although they were big, their venom does not have any effect on humans and if you do get bitten it’s more of a scratch than a bite.

I didn’t get bitten so I can’t vouch for the sign declaring them to be non-lethal spiders. They certainly looked dangerous. There wasn’t much light in the bushes so I ended up using the sky as a background and opening up as much as possible to create a nice shallow depth of field. It kind of worked but has finally proved to me that I need to invest in faster lenses!

This spider was about the size of my hand. If you look closely, or enlarge the photograph by clicking on it, you can see flies and other insects trapped in the web. The spider scatters their bodies, wrapped in its silk around the web to make it visible to birds so that they do not fly through it. Very interesting.

Anyways I have a few ideas in my head for future posts which I think will be fun to write about, just have to get out there and get the pictures now.

Until then!

P.S.

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