Muddy River 08/17/09, 11:25 a.m.

[urbpan]

Fishing Spider Dolomedes sp.


Honeybee Apis mellifera pollinating swamp loosestrife Decodon verticillatus. (Thanks to cottonmanifesto for assisting in the identification. I thought it was purple loosestrife.)


Charlie has gray hairs in his eyebrows now. He'll be 9 in October.

Comments

[vampyrusgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we didn't notice how grey Ezzie Pez's face had become until we looked at old pictures. But it made him look distinguished, which is saying a lot for a greyhound. :P

[audacian.livejournal.com]

I don't like spiders at all, but that one is badass.

[urimancy.livejournal.com]

Amazing shot of an amazing spider!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (it held still)

Any opinion on the Pentax K100D?

[belen1974.livejournal.com]

sorry to butt in - their k200d looks pretty good too and price seems to be similar:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Pentax/pentax_k200d.asp

[cottonmanifesto.livejournal.com]

they are like $150-200 different in price?

[urimancy.livejournal.com]

How much are you finding the K100D for? I see Amazon has the K200D mentioned by belen1974 for about $550 (body only), and you do get a significant megapixel boost, and some other upgrades over the 100. There's a good comparison of the two here in case you haven't already been browsing dpreview.com in your search:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxk200d/

That said, I don't think there's anything wrong with the 100. And maybe you can get it for quite cheap refurbished or something, since it's older? I've never had a Pentax camera, but my bother-in-law is a fan. He worked in a camera shop for a while several years ago, and came to the conclusion that Pentax was kind of the AIWA of camera manufacturers; perfectly decent quality products with more features for less money than bigger brands like Canon, Nikon, and Sony.

I think you can take great photos with any DSLR that's currently available, really. The only ones I have a problem with are the entry-level Nikons that came out without auto-focus for non-S series lenses for some reason (I think that was the D40 and the D50, but since you didn't mention Nikon it's probably off-topic...and maybe you really like manual focus anyway). Honestly, the lenses you end up using will be more important than the camera body, in my opinion. I usually recommend that anyone purchasing their first DSLR on a budget go for the most inexpensive camera that they can, and put whatever else they've got towards a quality lens to go with it. Though I also think you should be sure and meet the camera you are considering buying in person, first, to see if you like the size/build, the arrangement of dials & buttons, the menu interface, etc.

What kind of camera does your wife have? (I feel like I should know this by now!) Being able to share someone else's accessories is awfully nice.

I can't wait to see what you start taking with your new camera, whatever it us! Flattered that you asked my opinion. Thank you!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I found the 100 for under 300 for the body only. What sold me was that I can use my old K mount lenses. I have two K1000 bodies which are just sentimental paperweights, but by god that was the best most simple slr ever made. I wish they made digital backs, so I could use the same camera without film.

Alexis uses a Canon Rebel xti.

Yours are consistently the best digital photos I've seen, so I had to ask you. :)

[urimancy.livejournal.com]

It sounds like a no-brainer. Awesome that you already have lenses that will work with it.

I'm excited. Hurry!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

It's already ordered! I just have to wait for it to arrive now!

[miz-geek.livejournal.com]

What a cool-looking spider (and a great shot)!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! They're among the bigger spiders we get in New England.

[ssorca19.livejournal.com]

thats the scariest looking water-spider i've ever seen. I may never swim again.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

it's esp funny to have one of those run after your kayak :)

"it's coming for us!"

#

[wulfsbane.livejournal.com]

I love Fishing Spiders. Hell, any aquatic spider. They're just crazy.

[dougmander.livejournal.com]

That photo of the fishing spider is textbook. Love it! Hooray for surface tension!

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

Aw, Charlie doesn't look a day over 5 :)

Nice spider shot! Would you agree with cottonmanifesto's ID of my orb weaver from the other day?

fishing spider

[urb-banal.livejournal.com]

Fishing Spider floats
on the mirrored surface of the pond,
tense and yet so calm.

i hope you don't mind, I posted this on haiku-daily and gave you credit for your photo of the spider...

Re: fishing spider

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Not at all. Glad to participate in your inspiration.