Six-Years Ago (26-December-2011) — Florida

December Road Trip to Florida in 2011: Sarasota

Mirror selfie in a mirror with a frog. Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida.

Frog & Mirror. Marie Selby Gardens Gift Shop - Sarasota, Florida. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec) (© 2011 David J Mathre)
Frog & Mirror. Marie Selby Gardens Gift Shop – Sarasota, Florida. Image taken with a Leica X1 (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/2.8, 1/30 sec) (© 2011 David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (26-December-2007) — Florida

Gone to See America. December 2007 Florida Road Trip. Day 5: Sarasota.

I was walking down a trail at Selby Gardens when I saw this red crab spider eating a fly that got caught in the spider’s web. I had never seen a crab spider before. It was hard to get a sharp image since the web was moving in the wind. I used a ring flash to try to freeze the motion.

alt_title. (David J Mathre)
Crab Spider eating a Fly at Selby Gardens. Image taken with an Nikon D300 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 200, f/11, 1/60 sec, ring flash). (David J Mathre)

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Wednesday (26-December-2007) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2007 Road Trip Day 5: Selby Gardens in Sarasota.

We drove to Sarasota to visit Marie Selby Botanical Gardens to view the Orchid show. The gardens do not allow the use of tripods in the conservatory, but did allow me to use my walking stick as monopod to stabilize the camera while taking pictures. I tried to work quickly so not to block other visitors to the gardens. It was a target rich environment. After visiting the conservatory we spent time wandering around in the outdoor gardens. It was there I got an image of a crab spider having a fly for lunch.

Orchid at Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (David J Mathre)
Orchid at Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (David J Mathre)


Crab Spider with a Fly for Lunch at Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (David J Mathre)
Crab Spider with a Fly for Lunch at Selby Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 105 mm f/2.8 VR macro lens (David J Mathre)