Orb Weaving Spider

Image # 1D2_05745

"Terra Firma" area of the Amazon River

Canon 100/f2.8 USM Macro

ISO 800, f/8, 1/60 second

Manual Exposure, with MR-24EX at +1/3 FEC

Handheld

While this specimen might not hold the title of the world's largest orb spider (which was recently found and reported in the news), we were nevertheless pretty impressed by the size of this one.  In checking on the species ID, I was surprised to find that the general category of 'orb weaving spider' includes more than 2800 separate species!  The shooting specs for this image show that I was trying to balance the flash, used as the main light for the subject, with the somewhat dark background ambient light by raising the ISO and selecting a slower shutter speed.