If you've ever heard anything about Australia it may be that you've been
told to look under the toilet seat for Redback spiders before stealing some
uninterrupted time in the quietest and darkest room of the house - the Aussie
outback toilet. Australia is home to some of the most-deadly insects and
arachnids in the world - all of which, despite their fearsome reputation, are
extremely photographic.
Macro
photography is generally recognized as the art of capturing images of small
objects at a scale larger than life. Insects and spiders fit perfectly into
the serious macro photographer's psyche as they pose in unpredictable
positions and are always on the move. Depending on the insect - this can make
it extremely difficult to capture them clearly-enough for the photograph to be
of high-enough quality for presentation value.
The Australian Redback spider is a very timid creature. It lives in warm dark
places such as wood piles, under the eaves of homes, along timber fences and
yes - even under the famed outback Aussie toilet seat! They've even started to
make their presence known in the steel cities of Japan - courtesy of shipments
of Australian iron ore.
Finding a Redback can sometimes be the easy part of the shoot - they're
everywhere in summer. Getting the little creature to keep still and pose in
the right position and light can be the difficult part.
Shooting macro photography images usually means getting as close as only a
couple of inches away from the subject. This can sometimes be a disturbing
experience when photographing the Redback. They're mostly shy and sometimes
move fast.
I've
never read anywhere that Redback spiders can jump; however I've had a couple
of experiences where I've witnessed this. It's usually the smaller ones that
will leap from the leaf of a shrub and swing on a fine thread to the ground in
an attempt to escape. So when you've spent the last five minutes setting up
the shot only to see the highly magnified spider disappear from the eyepiece
of the camera in an instant - you'll find yourself spending the next fifteen
minutes looking for the damn thing up the leg of your trousers!
The silky smooth blackness of the Redback in sunlight lends itself to a set of
gleaming macro photographs you'll be proud to show to your friends.
If
you go searching for a Redback to photograph, be warned; around 200
Australians are bitten each year!
