Tarantula Season
#1
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Tarantula Season
Saw two of them yesterday; took two photos of the same one.
Anybody who hasn't done Diablo during tarantula season is missing out on a neat experience.
Afternoon/early evening is the best time.
Anybody who hasn't done Diablo during tarantula season is missing out on a neat experience.
Afternoon/early evening is the best time.
#2
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BTW, does anybody know if that green spot (sort of in the middle of both photos) is some kind of camera flaw that might be a warranty issue? Any diagnostic tips?
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Yup, almost ran one over last Friday night on SGR. Kinda spooked me a bit. I'm sure there's gonna be a few squished ones on the road in the next couple of weeks. I sure hope they'll at least get to fulfill their lifelong quest .
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Kinda looks like lens flare from shooting into the sunlight or some type of color fringing (again, from the bright lighting). Probably only an issue with lens which is "normal". Now if you get it even in normal lighting, something's wrong...
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...lens-flare.htm
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...lens-flare.htm
Last edited by alainp; 09-11-08 at 04:57 PM. Reason: added link for lens-flare example
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Those are cool pictures. I`ll admit to covering my eyes (spiders freak me out...a bit ), but I`m sure it`s an experience to be cruising down the road and see them going about their day.
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I'd say the green spot is warranty issue. That shouldn't be there. Is is there in every photo?
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On a side not, I`m having a full-on `Peter-Brady-asleep-in-Hawaiin-hotel-room` moment right now. Can`t shake the image on a creepy-crawly walking across my chest. Anyway, nice pics. Thanks for the post.
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Great photos. I will try to up the mountain Saturday morning. May be not the best time to see the beasts.
The green spots (I see 2 on the first photo) seem to be flare issues because you were facing the sun. It could be that the coating on your lens has a defect but it's probably normal.
The green spots (I see 2 on the first photo) seem to be flare issues because you were facing the sun. It could be that the coating on your lens has a defect but it's probably normal.
#9
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I was wondering if I could take a photo of a black wall or a white wall or something to check... any ideas?
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Looks like a small lens flare- probably doesn't have anything to do with the sensor. If the spots showed up in exactly the same location, then that would tend to indicate a sensor problem. Try taking photos of a gray (neutral wall) and a clear sky (with the sun behind you).
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After about 10 seconds he stopped moving and let me photograph him in super macro mode. But after a while I think he got a little nervous and these black fang/pincher things came out of his back end which made me think I'd annoyed him long enough... I don't know what they were for but it looked like he was bringing out the big guns.
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Looks like a small lens flare- probably doesn't have anything to do with the sensor. If the spots showed up in exactly the same location, then that would tend to indicate a sensor problem. Try taking photos of a gray (neutral wall) and a clear sky (with the sun behind you).
Those photos were cropped so I don't know if it was exactly the same spot on the sensor.
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Nice pics! Another reason for me to go back up again - how long is tarantula season?
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Theirs is an interesting story - the young males go out looking for mates, females stay in their nesting holes. The male will either find a mate or die trying. If he does find a mate, she eats him right after the deed. So all the ones you see on the road are adolescent males with raging hormones.
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I saw one on Palomares Road a few weeks ago. I took some pics of him but no way could I get that close.
wussy tarantula pic ---> https://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...8/IMG_0841.jpg
wussy tarantula pic ---> https://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...8/IMG_0841.jpg
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I saw one on Palomares Road a few weeks ago. I took some pics of him but no way could I get that close.
wussy tarantula pic ---> https://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...8/IMG_0841.jpg
wussy tarantula pic ---> https://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k1...8/IMG_0841.jpg
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First off - I had a tarantula as a pet for many years. I studied them extensively. When they move their little black things on their back - they are spinning thread. Those things on the back are spinners. Tarantulas hunt by ground pursuit and have downward fangs that are hollow and the size of a cat's claw. Two of them. So they attack forward and bite into their prey - such as mice and crickets. Then they spin thread about them to keep them immobilized in. The venom is about as bad as a bee-sting. Unless you are allergic to bees, they wouldn't kill you.
If you scare them (you are too big to eat, so they wouldn't bite you unless you provoked them greatly), the first thing they do is kick their back legs in your direction to send fur at you. The fur is sharp and irritating. Failing this scaring you off, they would rise up at you and bare the fangs. If that didn't work and you continued - they MIGHT bite you. They would rather run away. They are very docile and usually just sit there like an eight-legged mouse. Kids in some parts of the Americas play with them. They are simple to pick up or get to move by tapping their rear end gently. Don't drop them or they will squash and die. The insides of their outer shell (they molt or shed - like a snake) looks like mother-of-pearl. Shiny and shimmering.
Tarantulas have a bad reputation due to Hollywood. They are the oldest type of spider - they were around with the dinosaurs.
If you scare them (you are too big to eat, so they wouldn't bite you unless you provoked them greatly), the first thing they do is kick their back legs in your direction to send fur at you. The fur is sharp and irritating. Failing this scaring you off, they would rise up at you and bare the fangs. If that didn't work and you continued - they MIGHT bite you. They would rather run away. They are very docile and usually just sit there like an eight-legged mouse. Kids in some parts of the Americas play with them. They are simple to pick up or get to move by tapping their rear end gently. Don't drop them or they will squash and die. The insides of their outer shell (they molt or shed - like a snake) looks like mother-of-pearl. Shiny and shimmering.
Tarantulas have a bad reputation due to Hollywood. They are the oldest type of spider - they were around with the dinosaurs.
Last edited by Panthers007; 09-12-08 at 12:50 PM. Reason: Sp.
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CA is not the only location with tarantulas.
Noticed a couple here in the morning (Tucson, AZ).
Used to see more of them years ago, especially very early morning; they seem to like the warmth of pavement at that time of day.
They are docile and rather cool in their own ugly way!
Noticed a couple here in the morning (Tucson, AZ).
Used to see more of them years ago, especially very early morning; they seem to like the warmth of pavement at that time of day.
They are docile and rather cool in their own ugly way!
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Mine was a female (I know how to sex a tarantula - no jokes, please). So I named her Boris (the Spider). She lived in an aquarium-tank, into which I placed mice and crickets when it was feeding-time. I also had two Maine-Coon Cats. Giants. And the aquarium became their TV. They would lay there for hours - watching the mice. One day there came the howling of excited cats! They rushed into where I was and told me, in no uncertain terms, to come look. Sure enough - the usually devoid-of-movement 8-legged lump had struck. She had a mouse in her fangs. Within 24 hours the mouse, fur and all, was gone. Only the very tip of it's tail remained as a reminder of having existed.
The cats had an ally. They showed a new respect for the 8-legged lump of a spider. A fellow mouser she was.
The cats had an ally. They showed a new respect for the 8-legged lump of a spider. A fellow mouser she was.