The Tiny Wolf Spider & The Photoshop Challenge!

[best appreciated at full size against black]

First of all, I think these spiders should be called "Speedy Gonzalez Spiders" or perhaps, "Tasmanian Devil Spiders"...boy do they know how to run FAST! I can't believe how quickly these guys move over whatever terrain they're on, whether that's the forest floor, a meadow with tree-like grass, or the ceiling of our home. They really know how to boogie! :D However, they also stand perfectly still--which this one did for a moment--and then it's almost impossible to see them in their natural habitat because they blend in so very well!

In the case of this stunning little spider, which measures about 1/2" in diameter, it took some serious Photoshop mojo to get him to pop out of this scene! However, I was pleased at the clarity and wonderful details, so I was up for this challenge! :D I carefully selected him with the polygonal lasso tool and put him on a separate layer, tweaked his color so he was a little bit more rust-colored, and used a filter or two to sharpen and enhance his details. The background was darkened, desaturated to near grey-scale, and I added vignetting and additional darkening around the image to soften and tone down the sticks and leaves. There's no way to get any bokeh to help with the subject is on the ground and photographed nearly overhead, so the only way to bring this little beauty out was to tone down the background very carefully, while still trying to maintain a natural look. I hope I did a good job, what do you think?! :D

By the way, if you would like to know more about wolf spiders, Wiki has a great page here: Wiki: Wolf Spider

This image was taken in March, 2012.