Underside of an Arrow-shaped Micrathena Spider /  by Todd Henson

Underside of an Arrow-shaped Micrathena spider. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Arrow-shaped Micrathena (Micrathena sagittata) are a species of orb-weaving spider with an interesting arrow-shaped body and beautiful coloration including a mix of yellow, black and red. They have what appear to be 2 large spikes sticking out the end of their abdomen, with 4 smaller spikes around the middle and front of the abdomen. You can only see 4 of these spikes on the spider pictured here. Apparently in males of the species these spikes are smaller or sometimes missing completely, so I’m guessing this one is a female. The large protrusion in the center of the underside of its abdomen contain its spinnerets, used to extrude the silk that makes up its web.

I found this particular specimen along a trail in a forested park. It was hanging on its web with its underside facing the trail. It can be easy to overlook spiders while hiking, except of course when they build their webs right across the trail. But this one was at the edge of the trail, with a very nice patch of green foliage in the background that turned into a beautiful green blur in the image.

Photographing the Micrathena

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To photograph this Micrathena I used a 105 mm macro lens (Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED). I set the ISO to 1000 because I was photographing in a forest with little sunlight getting through all the leaves. I used an aperture of f/9 to give me a reasonable depth of field with the macro lens. But as you can see, portions of the spider are still out of focus. The shutter speed was 1/25th of a second, which is rather slow but was enough in this case. I used a tripod to keep the camera steady.

Keep your eyes open as you hike through the woods, both to avoid walking right into a spider web across the trail, but also to give you the opportunity to see some of the amazing spiders living just off the trail.

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The Soul of the Camera by David duChemin /  by Todd Henson

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The cover of The Soul of the Camera

The cover of The Soul of the Camera

The Soul of the Camera: The Photographer's Place in Picture-Making feels like a different style of book from some of David duChemin’s previous works, such as Within the Frame (one of my favorites), and Photographically Speaking. And yet I suppose it really is not so different. Each of these books takes a core theme and explores it, trying to convey to the reader its importance and how it might be used to better our photography, and even to learn what better photography means.

In Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, the main theme is that of vision. He talks about how creating an emotionally impactful image is greatly enhanced by vision, and he then spends the book going into all the details of what vision entails and how important it is to our development as photographers.

In Photographically Speaking: A Deeper Look at Creating Stronger Images, duChemin continues the discussions from Within the Frame, but with a theme of visual language. What is it? How can we use it to better understand what makes an impactful image, and hopefully as part of this learn to create more impactful images? The book attempts to answer these questions.

The Soul of the Camera is similar to the other two in that it focuses on a theme, that of “the Photographers Place in Picture-Making.” None of these books were very focused on gear or technique and this book is even less so than the others. It centers on topics related to the photographer, such as the need to be open to the world and to creativity, the need of patience both with your craft and with yourself, and the importance of curiosity in developing your creativity.

Pages 106 - 107 of The Soul of the Camera. The chapter on Obedience to Curiosity.

Pages 106 - 107 of The Soul of the Camera. The chapter on Obedience to Curiosity.

Where I suppose this book feels different than the other two is in how the topics are presented. It feels like a book of short essays, each able to stand on its own (perhaps as blog posts), but taken together also able to convey a larger whole. And interspersed between each essay is a collection of duChemin’s photography, all in black and white. So it ends up feeling to me like two books in one: a collection of essays and a portfolio of duChemin’s work.

Pages 54 - 55 of The Soul of the Camera. Photograph from Jodhpur, India, 2016.

Pages 54 - 55 of The Soul of the Camera. Photograph from Jodhpur, India, 2016.

I really enjoyed the photography in The Soul of the Camera. I think I would have been happy with the purchase even if it only contained his photographs. The choice of using only black and white photographs was a good one. There are some very beautiful and impactful images in these pages. You may have seen some of these photographs before in his previous books or on his website, some in color. But he says some of the photographs are new to this book.

Physically, this edition of the book measures about 7 1/4 by 9 1/4 inches. It is a hard bound book, which is actually rather nice. There are a total of 274 pages. If I counted correctly, there are 86 black and white photographs placed between the 26 chapters (or essays), which include an introduction and conclusion.

Pages 64 - 65 of The Soul of the Camera. Photographs from Kenya, 2015.

Pages 64 - 65 of The Soul of the Camera. Photographs from Kenya, 2015.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely, but not necessarily to everyone. I don’t know if this would be a good first book on photography. Some photography newbies might get something out of it, but I don’t know that I would have. I think I first needed to focus on the more common technical aspects of photography. Once I started feeling more secure in my technical ability then I think I became open enough to learn some of the softer topics that have far more impact on the creation of beautiful and meaningful photographs.

If you are new to David duChemin and his writing then I would start with his first book, Within the Frame. That remains one of my favorite photography books, being about more than the typical technical aspects of the craft. Then I might recommend Photographically Speaking, which continues the discussions of the first. If you are still drawn to his work and inspired by his writing then I would recommend giving The Soul of the Camera a try.

“It is time now to turn our attention to what is ultimately responsible for the making of photographs — the photographers themselves.”
— David duChemin

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Riding the Rapids Below Great Falls on the Potomac River /  by Todd Henson

A slow shutter speed of 1/60 sec shows the movement of the water, making a more dynamic photograph.

The Potomac River is a popular location for whitewater sports such as kayaking. Between Maryland and Virginia, not too far from Washington, DC, the river narrows and drops in elevation, creating a number of fantastic world class waterfalls.

Riding the wave. A shutter speed of 1/100 sec is a nice balance between slow and fast.

Just below Great Falls the river levels out a bit and provides some nice rapids. This is a great location to ride the waves, with spots where kayakers can maintain their location on the river, as if they were surfing a wave on the ocean but without moving forward.

Slicing through the water. This time the shutter speed was 1/160 sec.

The kayaker in this post was riding in such a location. In one of the photos you can see him smile as he holds his paddle horizontally, riding the crest of the wave. Kayakers were rotating through this location. They would each spend enough time there to get a real workout and enjoy the feel of the river. Then they’d move aside and let another kayaker ride that wave.

Big smiles, enjoying the wave. Shutter speed for this image was 1/200 sec.

For these photos I tried a range of shutter speeds. You can create a number of different looks by changing your shutter speed when photographing fast action like this, especially when water is involved. Use a fast shutter speed and you can freeze the action, showing individual drops of water hanging in mid-air. Use a slower shutter speed and you can really show the motion and action as the water flows around the kayaker, his paddle blurring as he maneuvers it.

A fast shutter speed of 1/1250 sec freezes most of the water, showing individual droplets.

See how dynamic the action can look at a slow shutter speed of 1/60 sec.

If you ever have the opportunity I encourage you to find a location where you can watch and photograph kayakers, then leave a comment below and tell me about your experiences.

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