How a 'Spider at home' helped my creative photography during Lockdown...

There won't be a human being who has not seen these tiny little, eight-legged, eight-eyed anthropods!
During Lockdown due to Covid, with no option to do anything creative, I resurrected my hibernating project of photographing Spiders in my garden.
The only way to keep myself sane in these trying times was to try to be creative and immerse into nature photography with whatever little nature offers at home.

The Orb Weaver Spider (garden spider) offered me that respite, made my evenings delightful and pushed me to think and do things in photography I never had time for.

With these images, I thought, I would bring out the beauty of these smaller, neglected fauna in different light and hopefully that raises curiousity and creativity among the young folks.

Also, I wanted to explore the possibilty that, though we have enclosed ourselves in our concrete homes, the nature is still all around us, breathing and working just fine as usual.

So, the next time, you see a small bug, a beetle, a spider or fly hiding among your garden pots, be curious about nature and its resilince to exist along side you. Will you?

Equipment: Canon 7D Mark2, Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro Lens, in-built flash with diffuser and mobile torch light as continuous light source, Vanguard Tripod.

EXIF: I have used multiple camera techniques trying out different outcomes. That includes, multiple exposure, long exposure, 2nd curtain flash.
All the multiple exposure photographs are taken in-camera and nothing much is done in post processing except the regular exposure/level/curves adjustments.

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1. The Spider comes out of its hiding at dusk, the dark blue clouds hover over the city and few of the citylights starts showing up on the horizon.
EXIF : 3.2 sec, F13, ISO 400, in-built flash with diffuser, mobile torch for backlight.

2. The spider web would light up like a rainbow but, with the raging wind on my top floor apartment, it was always difficult to get a decent image of this.
EXIF : 1/100 sec, F2.8, ISO 500, -2 2/3 Ev, mobile torchlight.

3. The raindrops and spider.
EXIF : 1/100 sec, F2.8, ISO 640, -3 1/3 Ev, Mobile torch for side light.

4. The rainbow spider. The spider would stay put but the web was delicate and spider would move with it even in slightest breeze.
EXIF : 1/5 sec, F2.8, ISO 400, -1/3 Ev, Mobile torch for light.

5. The spider and sun(?).
EXIF : 1/250 sec, F2.8, ISO 400, -1 1/3 Ev, Mobile torch in frame as the sun.

6. The Spider and the city it habits. The blur is of its movement in the windy balcony.
EXIF : 0.6 sec, F2.8, ISO 250, -2/3 Ev, mobile torch as light for spider. ICDE [In camera Double Exposure]

7. Do you see The human face? The ventral side of the Spider juxtaposed along with its silhouette and distant city lights.
EXIF : 1.0 sec, F5.0, ISO 400, -1 Ev and built in flash with diffuser. ICDE [In camera Double Exposure]

8. An Aphid from my basil plant stuck on the thin strand of spider web and it quickly launched the attack wrapping it up in its web.
EXIF : 8.0 sec, F8.0, ISO 250, -1 Ev, Built in flash with diffuser. ICDE [In camera Double Exposure]

9. Who does not like to swing it around when it is nice breezy? The spider, about to moult is hanging by thin web and swaying in the wind.
EXIF : 15.0 sec, F22, ISO 400, -2 1/3 Ev, Mobile Torch to light the spider. ICDE [In camera Double Exposure]

10. The Moulting Spider. Look, how it leaves its old skeleton and comes out as new shiny, bigger spider. The metamorphosis is quick but a treat to watch in real!
EXIF : 0.8 sec, F5.0, ISO 250, -2 Ev, built-in flash with diffuser.

11. The spider rises against the bloody supermoon night.
EXIF : 1/200 sec, F2.8, ISO 1000, -1 1/3 Ev. Mobile torch to back light spider. ICDE [In camera Double Exposure]

12. The spider tries to reach for the moon. Really!
EXIF : 5.0 sec, F5.6, ISO 400, built-in flash with diffuser. Mobile torch for its trail line. ICDE [In camera Double Exposure] with 500mm lens for the moon.

13. The spiral of Death. It is fascinating to watch the spider move around, hopping from one point to other weaving its web in extremely fast pace. To show, its trail and work progress, I used the long exposure and lit it with mobile torch.
EXIF : 25.0 sec, F8.0, ISO 400, -2/3 Ev. Built-in flash for spider and Mobile torch to track the trail during the exposure.

14. Is that the ozone hole? No! It is the spider web while it is busy weaving it in concentric circle with the cityscape in backdrop.
EXIF : 35.sec, F4.0, ISO 400. Mobile torch to light up the trail.

15. Just the pretty spider web rainbow abstracts.
EXIF : 1/80 sec, F2.8, ISO 500, -2 2/3 Ev, Mobile torch.

16. Colorful Spider web Absrtact.
EXIF : 1/4 sec, F2.8, ISO 1250, -2 1/3 Ev, Mobile torch.

17. Spider web rainbows.
EXIF : 1/13 sec, F2.8, ISO 800, -3 1/3 Ev, Mobile torch.

18. Spider web or Rainbow colored strings...
EXIF : 0.3 sec, F2.8, ISO 160, -2 Ev, Mobile torch.