Monday, January 26, 2009

Scenes from the Macro-World – Arachneae

Inspiration struck while reading Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.





A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,













It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.













And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,











Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.


- Walt Whitman, "A Noiseless Patient Spider", Leaves of Grass, Book XXX





The gorgeous ladies pictured above are fine examples of Leucauge venusta, the Venusta Orchard Orbweaver spider, a tiny greenish dot to the naked eye, but under the macro lens she becomes a shimmering rainbow. These pictures were taken in 2006 and 2007 in Ballard Park, Newport, RI.

© 2006, 2007, & 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger

4 comments:

  1. ...my goodness...beautiful photos for beautiful words. Loved it!

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  2. What a colorful dainty you found. Ans so beautifully captured. Stunning!

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  3. roy, this is so wonderful. the warmth of your blog - your words with your photos in this style take on so much more. your in complete creative control. your background color works so well standing alongside your photos.

    ~thanks so much for taking in my photos. i am going to take your advise 'but' thinking of it as a blogger challenge. i have never done night shots. also, i have my new rebel to play with as well. woo hoo!!

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  4. Oh, so these are small? Good. Small is good. When it comes to these things, at least.

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