rain curtain Photo

Photographer’s Note

"The means to gain happiness is to throw out from oneself like a spider in all directions an adhesive web of love, and to catch in it all that comes" ~Leo Tolstoy

On the rare morning of fog or dew, I come across these gorgeous masterpieces as I walk in the country with my dog. They seem to be everywhere, but to capture them in their essence is a true challenge - this is the first of many experimentations with webs of dew, hence the slight out of focus nature in parts despite my best efforts at sharpening it in photoshop(also in part I think due to the lack of lens power I have for macro shots). I hope that in the process of learning how to capture these marvelous creations of nature, I don't ever come across that which made it. :-)

Any advice or suggestions are certainly welcome!

Updated note: Since this posting I've been anxiously awaiting the return of warmer temperatures and damp mornings to try my hand at taking more shots of these magnificent creations of nature. About a week ago it warmed up quite a bit and I guess it was just enough for the spiders to think it was time to come back out (of wherever they go, don't know much about them) but unfortunately the warm did not last long and their webs were turned to frost within a day. The frost created such a unique effect and I think it's a rare thing to see so I wanted to share. Click here to see image.

quillo, gilbriones2002, marjan, anney, Amphitrite, gonzalezcheryl has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rajhema (1867) 2005-11-08 11:27

Glorious shot Cora. Very thoughtfully observed. Good one.

jafadabret (39777) 2005-11-08 11:33

Cora c'est un belle photo pour le web. Les perles de rosée sur cette toile forment une vue féérique. Merci pour le partage.

marietom (32018) 2005-11-08 11:40

Quand la nature se met à faire de l'art...
Superbe image.
A+
Marie

majastan (75) 2005-11-08 11:52

I like it as it is, although it's a bit blurry and I completely understand the lack of lenses. But the whole scene is nice and I tried to make some web shots myself and I never managed so well. So good job.

ceky (2304) 2005-11-08 12:25

Daily Life, Nature, Artwork... The categories presented here above summarize well this picture...
Congratulations !

thor68 (5537) 2005-11-08 13:19

wow, this is cool, cora! :-)
the drops look like pearls on a string.
great shot although it´s a little bit
blurred on the left.
this is something i have try sometimes.
well done, thor.

rosaline (0) 2005-11-08 13:35

Excellent framing and a masterpiece of nature indeed. Perhaps a little more depth of field needed in the foregroud, but a wonderful capture nevertheless.
More early morning walks I think.

Aubrey

cmarino (2358) 2005-11-08 14:01

A very interesting shot, Cora.
I also have a shot of a web but yours is fantastic due to the effect of the water drops on it.
Very good job indeed.
Regards,

Celso

Ber (7576) 2005-11-08 15:43

Hi Cora
Beautiful creations of nature,
very good job, congratulations
Ber

flip89 (3345) 2005-11-08 18:53

Stupendous! There's nothing more we can say.

keribar (42756) 2005-11-09 0:53

Heeey !

What a beauty your sending to us. Looks like a precious gem. You were lucky to spot such an interesting nature phenonemon. And you took an excellent shot. Well done Cora..

I would suggest to underexpose and givew some contrast with Adobe for a more dramaticpicture., I have done a WS with your permission. est regards - Izzet Keribar

[workshop] [compare] +

vinicio (22414) 2005-11-09 3:07

Fantastic shot Cora, very well done, if it had still more focus would have been perfect, you had to close more the objective (f/16 or 22), howewer I like it, my compliments.
Cheers
Vinicio

manss0fl (327) 2005-11-12 19:00

Great shot Cora. There is one large dew drop in particular, in the centre top third of the picture which is perfectly sharp and acts as a great focal point. As you say, it's all a bit hit and miss, so keep experimenting!

quillo (7190) 2005-11-14 11:36

Hello Cora: It magnifies photo, by your note I understand that tapeworms many average ones not to make this shot, the certain thing are that you have given in the morning call.
I like much the reflections of the drops of water and the form of the spider fabric, seems a necklace of per them.
Good work and congratulations...... Paco

- automatic translation Internet -

MichaelTrezzi (3170) 2005-11-26 17:52

Hi Cora,
this is really a great web. I like especially the changing color of the bacground which makes the web with the droplets even more interesting. Great job. Cheers, Michael

shirgold (2439) 2005-12-12 7:28

Hi Cora,
Composition is simply superb, great POV !!
The lower part of the web is out of focus, a tripod and smaller apparture might have fixed that - but still, an impressive capture.
TFS - Shir

gilbriones2002 (930) 2006-01-03 11:29

Amazing capture of these droplets and the web,nice natural pattern. great eye for seeing this.

marjan (6085) 2006-01-13 9:50

Cora, you hawe lot of nice picture , but this one is something special. It is art not only photo.
TFS
Marjan

siloway (60) 2006-04-01 5:48

beautifull shot, could be inhanced by a relatively thick black border in my opinion.

anney (143) 2006-09-28 1:11

The drops on the web remind me of an expensive, ostentatious necklace. It's beautiful. And the colors in the background make this really stand out. Great work!

Amphitrite (1590) 2007-03-09 13:40

Excellent shot,
So nice drops like pearl...Amazing :=)
Congratulations,
Pinar

meb (744) 2008-02-05 8:10

Amazing game of nature... you caught a precious moment and documented nature's beauty at its best.
Congratulations
Marica

gonzalezcheryl (59) 2008-09-28 18:41

Hi Cora,

What a magnificent photo. It caught my attention right away. This is a rare thing that you were fortunate enough to capture. I wouldn't worry too much about the unfocused parts, the beauty of the picture more than makes up for it. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Cheryl

Photo Information

Copyright: Cora Malinak (ayobami) (1343)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-10-17
Categories: Daily Life, Nature, Artwork
Camera: Canon 20D, 18-55 f3.5-5.6 ef-s
Exposure: f/5.0, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Goutte d'eau / Water drop, Favourites 4, Favourites [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-11-08 11:23
Favorites: 5 [view]