I start my mornings by getting up at 4am, yes…you heard me correctly, 4am. Once I have some coffee and grab my gear, I am out on location at a local park by 5am-5:30am. With headlamp on, I navigate the various sections from wooded areas to open fields with paths between the weed lines. One thing I noticed early on is how the light from my headlamp sets eyes aglow of wolf spiders and other arachnids like the fishing spider. As of this post, I live in the Southeastern United States in the state of Georgia. Here, the fishing spider is very common. However, they were not on my radar until I started my 4am macro scouting routine with a headlamp. When I am walking through the park looking for subjects, I look for many things like abnormal shapes, textures, colors and movement. This technique yields many subjects daily however, with the fishing spider, it does not. In fact, the only way I have found them to date is by headlamp, in the dark, with eyes aglow. I know there are many types of fishing spider with various patterns like the white banded, dark fishing, Dolomedes scriptus to name a few. What I encounter is Dolomedes albineus or the white banded fishing spider. I find them on various tree types and I am consistently amazed by their ability to blend in to their surroundings.Over the past couple of years I have captured a handful of shots of these creatures on various surfaces and would like to share with you the moments. What may be common to some is incredibly strange to others. Below is a video out in the field as well as a gallery of images of these awesome creatures. I like to play the game, spot the spider :-). I hope you enjoy.
