228/365: "The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes." ~ Benjamin Disraeli

2 more pictures and one text note above! :)

I've been working on a little seed project which involves gathering seeds from various flowers that I have growing here. I have many, many poppy seed pods to collect seeds from and today I spent some time on that.

When I was done pulling poppy pods out of a cup, I poured the seeds at the bottom into my hand and... why, there was something crawling around! I peered very closely to see, and... awwwwwwww... there I saw an itty bitty hunting spider about the size of the letter "o" in this sentence! So cute!! I placed him on a napkin and ran for my camera! I took a bunch of pictures with both my flash and with just natural lighting, and hoped that I'd get a few good ones to share. When a creature is THAT small, it's not easy to get crisp focus on the spot you're hoping for. I always try for the eyes because that's where we are first drawn to when looking at an animal. But at this size, the only way I can really be sure is to stare with my naked eye to see how it's positioned and then try to get a clear picture focused where I think the eyes are. It really is amazing to me how great this 100mm lens is. Combined with 21k pixels from my 5D Mark II, I have the luxury of being able to crop in quite closely. What a combination!!

To give you an idea how tiny this spider is, it's crawling over shell embossing on a paper napkin! So amazing to me that something I can barely see can be captured so large! You know, we actually have a special lens adaptor, called the Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro conversion lens, which is a 2.5x magnification lens, but the problem is that the dof becomes so ridiculously razor thin that it can be challenging to get the focus where you want it. We've had the lens since I've had my Mark II, but I haven't bothered even trying to use it because I wanted to be extremely comfortable with my 100mm before trying to tack on this potentially frustrating lens. Do you think it's about time for me to give it a try? :) I think I'm ready! The fact of the matter is that I need to begin practicing with this lens because SOME DAY when I have some extra money, I want to get Canon's amazing MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo lens. It's manual focus only and has razor thin dof, but the results are INCREDIBLE when a person can learn to use it well! So...time to begin practicing! :) WISH ME LUCK!!!! *tremble*

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. He served in government for forty years, twice as Prime Minister of Great Britain. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party after the Corn Laws schism of 1846. In the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth century, the concept of One-nation conservatism associated with him, with its emphasis on obligations to all classes, was highly influential in Britain. Wikipedia: Benjamin Disraeli

Explored on August 17, 2013. Highest placement, page 2 (#44)...