A water bottle’s decorative lines, seen as a spider monitoring its paralyzed victims. Macro photography tends to be a very slow process for me, but capturing this image was especially lengthy and demanding. I labored to convey the spider’s dominance, and the meticulous craft and wealth of cunning demanded of those who lay traps in plain sight. The outcome is shown, but I wasn’t entirely satisfied.
A month passed before I realized that, like the unfocused spheres in the background, the spider’s varying focus renders it as prey – specifically, prey to those who only see fear and disgust in such creatures. Being neutral to spiders myself, I felt as if this assumed spider, content with its meal or patiently awaiting its next, could at any moment be smashed into oblivion for no reason at all.
Minolta XD11
Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm, mounted with Minolta 1:1 extension tube
Fuji Neopan Acros – ISO 100