Spiders in my Backyard

.
.
.A Brazilian Wandering Spider gets kind of angry
during a walk in my backyard...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007

During some workshops about nature photography and wildlife watching that we have recently presented in Brazil, I always like to point out how the subjects which we want to photograph or see may be much closer than we think. This week I had two more practical experiences.

At our garden we have some birds, such as this Swallow-tailed Hummingbird, who are gradually getting habituated to visiting the feeders that we placed at the porch. Day after day I notice how tolerant they are becoming to my careful approach, without being much concerned about my lenses as they did before. From here we can learn a first lesson: different from what one may imagine, in places where there are more people – near ranch houses, tourism trails, houses and lodges – it may be much easier to photograph birds and other animals than in remote locations. In other words, that special little place, where no one ever goes to, is not always the cleverest choice to photograph fauna, since critters tend to be more skittish.

The other learning comes from the Brazilian Wandering Spider who showed up at the same garden two days ago. Looking carefully for small details, even in a place where you pass by every day, is essential to find great photographic themes – besides helping you to avoid a painful bite in some cases…

A naughty Swallow-tailed Hummingbird
shows its tongue to the photographer
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2007
.
.
.