I went to an insect photography workshop tonight. This is a curly haired tarantula. It might be clearer on black.
Apparently, they have really poor eyesight. They detect things best by feeling vibrations, hence the webs they spin or drape.
You can detect it's tiny little eyes by looking up the foremost leg, then moving slightly left along the top. They are the shiny little black/white dots. Catchlights?? ;) I was pleased to get them in focus.
We back-lit and front-lit the critter, to get its hairy legs in the best light. Otherwise, it looked kind of two dimensional, as if it had been dropped from a great height.
It was kind of like the red carpet for insects. :)
10/1/2020: Finished year 7 (!), with continuing gratitude towards this amazing community. Based in St. Louis, MO. Regular worker-bee and self-taught photography dilettante....
