Warning: Beautiful Arachnid ahead

[HAB911]

As I mentioned to George last week, I've had some computer problems and during recovery I upgraded to a new graphics card, two steps shy of a professional level card which was outside my budget. Supposedly it is allowing me 30 bit color rendition for 1 Billion colors. The card is so large I couldn't fit it in my micro-ATX case and had to mount it externally with a PCIe extension cable I did not know existed.

My first project has been to revisit some of my Arachnid photos of Mabel’s Orchard Orb Weaver and Spiny-backed Orb-weaver, the only ones populating my screen room and super colorful. I chose this as my first project because I joined a photography site that has multiple specialty groups, one of which is called Spider-ville! I would not classify these as classic macro. I prefer to include all the surrounding context of webs and play of light and composition. I've collected some in a short slideshow here: https://jamesdevore.smugmug.com/SPECIAL-SLIDESHOW-ARACHNIDS
Hopefully adding more later, for now a couple of examples:

[George McGovern]

1. Fascinating HAB911!

[HAB911]

6. I wish there were others to photograph

but I don't see the large grove spiders I remember from years ago

[George McGovern]

11. Species disappear it appears. Ever hear of singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn?

Either way listen to "If A Tree Falls" and tell me what you think of the song. Thanks.

?list=RDErS9HCh8GfE

Rain forest
Mist and mystery
Teeming green
Green brain facing lobotomy
Climate control center for the world
Ancient cord of coexistence
Hacked by parasitic greed head scam
From Sarawak to Amazonas
Costa Rica to mangy B.C. hills
Cortege rhythm of falling timber
What kind of currency grows in these new deserts
These brand new flood plains?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?
Cut and move on
Cut and move on
Take out trees
Take out wildlife at a rate of species every single day
Take out people who've lived with this for one hundred thousand years
Inject a billion burgers worth of beef
Grain eaters, methane dispensers
Through thinning ozone
Waves fall on wrinkled earth
Gravity, light, ancient refuse of stars
Speak of a drowning
But this, this is something other
Busy monster eats dark holes in the spirit world
Where wild things have to go
To disappear
Forever
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear?
Anybody hear the forest fall?

[HAB911]

14. yes, good song.

i just finished a series on Netflix narrated by Morgan Freeman, unbelievable CGI by Industrial Light and Magic, produced by Spielberg, recreating the big 5 mass extensions and ending with, we are blindly creating the 6th right now.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. These are simply gorgeous! Thank you for enduring the computer problems and for giving us this beauty.

[HAB911]

7. thanks peggy

PCs, one 1990 Nissan 300ZX TT and one 2005 Chev Astro are my hobbies other than photography

[Solly Mack]

3. Beautiful! Beautiful spider and photos.

[HAB911]

8. Thank you, I love 'em

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Got a link for the source of this PCI(e?) extension cable ? I might have a use for one. If not a link, at least a brand

or model no. ? Thanks.

[HAB911]

5. I'm doing this to two computers

so I ordered two. This one is first class and worked well for me. I hate using Amazon but unless Best Buy has it, it's back to Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096T7WGKD

I also ordered this longer one, but it must be coming on a slow boat from China, so I can't vouch for it.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHVYPC29

Are you by any chance familiar with Oculink? It would have been an elegant solution. I tried that first but could not make either the PCIe card nor the M2 card work, so just went old school.

[eppur_se_muova]

10. Thanks for all that, and no I'm not familiar w/Oculink. I have only older equipment -- some really old! nt

[HAB911]

13. I happened to think last night

be mindful that if your graphics card requires additional power, ie 4 or 8 pin power plug you must provision for that with extension cable.

[Mousetoescamper]

9. Splendid photos, HAB911!

I photographed an orchard orb weaver this morning in the garden. I might try to get a closeup before sundown.

[HAB911]

12. thank you and good luck!

I swear we at one time had many large spiders around, and I definitely remember seeing many jumping spiders, but none of late. I hope we haven't killed them all.