Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused.
The post that almost wasn’t.
I don’t know who comes up with the themes for these challenges, but this was another week that I had almost given up on. I was drawing a complete and total blank. But, I knew I had to have at least one “unfocused” photograph 
Soft and…Creepy?
Spiders fascinate me, but they also kind of freak me out.
I came across this black and yellow beauty one day while blindly chasing monarch butterflies. And by “came across” I mean almost walked right into it!
I have several versions of the spider, but this “unfocused” one is my favorite.
They dont freak me out, but they are not my friends,,, fab picture, well captured…;)
May 5, 2012 at 7:49 am
Thanks Gerry! I’m comfortable enough with my manhood to admit that spiders this big do in fact freak me out a little
May 7, 2012 at 8:34 pm
I like thanks Jeff..enjoyed.
May 8, 2012 at 11:36 am
He was on that blurred web I posted!!
May 5, 2012 at 8:11 am
I thought is was quite a coincidence that you, being a blogger I follow, posted a spider web
May 7, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Cool shot!
May 5, 2012 at 8:42 am
Thanks Paul. It would have been much less cool if I had in fact walked into her!
May 7, 2012 at 8:36 pm
A gorgeous click, best viewed digitally rather than live! There is nothing quite as unnerving as walking into a spider web, face first!
Thanks for sharing.
May 5, 2012 at 9:59 am
By the way, I found this a tough challenge, too, because the premise of my blog is posting images I like, rather than blurred rejects I hadn’t deleted yet.
Thanks again for sharing this unique interpretation of unfocused.
May 5, 2012 at 10:04 am
Same here. If i didn’t actually like this one better a little soft, it would have been long gone.
May 5, 2012 at 5:06 pm
Thank you, and I here ya. Fortunately it’s been my experience that the big scary ones build there webs about waist level and lower. If I ever got one of these on my face I’d still be screaming
May 5, 2012 at 4:40 pm
incredible
May 5, 2012 at 10:56 am
Thanks!
May 5, 2012 at 5:06 pm
ICK! Jeff, it figures that even if the subject is out of focus, you still give us something both totally gorgeous and thoroughly creepy!
By the way…don’t you love how the most mild-mannered person turns into a total ninja the second they walk into a spider web?
May 5, 2012 at 11:01 am
You know it! I was nonchalantly walking through the field of tall grass chasing butterflies, when I saw the web out of the corner of my eye. Then I looked a little closer and saw the owner/builder of the web. That was the end of the nonchalant stroll through the field!
May 5, 2012 at 5:08 pm
That would have ended it for me, too. In fact, I would have run screaming to the car–not shot a picture of the thing!
May 5, 2012 at 10:51 pm
Once my heart settled down I got real close to her (why is it you women are so scary
).
I didn’t have a macro lens at the time, so I was using my 50mm lens with an extension tube. The front of the lens was only about 2-3 inches away from the spider when I took this. If she made even a slight move though…
May 7, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Why are we women so scary? It’s called self preservation, Jeff. Anyway, don’t some spiders jump? I haven’t been willing to get too close to anything that colorful to try to find out.
I might try shooting the picture also…but it would have been with my 300mm lens!
May 7, 2012 at 9:33 pm
If she had jumped I guarantee you would have heard me scream from your house!
May 8, 2012 at 6:29 am
I’d have done more than scream. I’d have probably fallen over in a dead faint!
May 8, 2012 at 10:35 pm
May 8, 2012 at 11:06 pm
How did I guess that “Mr perfectionist” would have trouble with this challenge
That picture would be one of mine on a good day!
May 5, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Well unfocused images are usually are the first to get deleted. But I liked this one so much more than the sharper ones it was spared.
May 5, 2012 at 5:10 pm
Oh yea, I forget to add, “Good day my butt,” don’t forget, I follow your blog and I see your wonderful macro images! When it comes to macro shots of bugs, I bet you delete better images than I keep!
May 7, 2012 at 8:44 pm
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I like this photo. A lot of bloggers used this challenge to showcase pictures that never should have been public. Your photo doesn’t fit into that category.
The spider looks poisonous. The colours of it seems like natures way to say: “Don’t touch me!”
May 5, 2012 at 3:29 pm
Thanks a lot! I don’t have any of those photos. Not because I don’t take any, but they don’t make it through Lightroom’s import process. Out of focus is almost always the kiss of death for a photo for me. This is the one exception.
Technically, I think all spiders are venomous, but most aren’t harmful to us. This one was big enough that it wouldn’t need to be poisonous to kill me
May 5, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Beautiful!
May 5, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Thank you!
May 5, 2012 at 5:16 pm
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i like this one because of the blur
May 5, 2012 at 6:59 pm
Thanks Jo!
May 6, 2012 at 10:23 am
Great entry for this weeks challenge! Good thing, you did not actually walk into it – wouldn’t have been a very delightful experience for you and we would have miss out on this truly great picture!
May 6, 2012 at 2:26 am
Thanks Cassie, yes you might have missed seeing this photo, but you would certainly have heard me scream
May 6, 2012 at 10:26 am
Sorry, it does not look creepy at all. It kind of reminds me of a multicoloured pinecone
. Lovely artistic shot Jeff 
May 6, 2012 at 7:18 am
Thank you very much Paula. My heart was racing after I realized how close I come to walking right through the web. But that didn’t stop me from getting up close and personal to get the shot!
May 6, 2012 at 10:28 am
Intrepid Jeff
You are lucky my friend 
May 6, 2012 at 11:28 am
Really beautiful shot. Nice work.
May 6, 2012 at 9:20 am
Thank you! It is the only out of focus photo I have. Most aren’t spared the delete key, if they even make it past the import process. Considering the subject, and for artistic reasons, I think this one is much nicer than the few I have of her that are sharper.
May 6, 2012 at 11:02 am
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Very nice! Is this a banana spider? We have a bunch along the SE coast in North Carolina.
May 6, 2012 at 9:32 am
Though it is known by several names, the most common seems to be black and yellow garden spider, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argiope_aurantia. This one is a female.
All I know is that she is one big creepy girl! I’m only a little freaked out by big spiders, and only if they actually get on me. I can only imagine someone who has a genuine fear of spiders coming as close as I did to walking through the web. Yikes!!
May 6, 2012 at 10:34 am
I’m the same way…they make ginormous webs and I have walked through my share of them, resulting in frantic flailing around the yard.
May 9, 2012 at 9:34 am
I’m sorry, but that is a sight I would pay to see!
Put me down for front row center tickets the next time you plan to put on this little show 
May 9, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Haha, you just made my day! Thanks so much for your comment, Jeff.
May 10, 2012 at 10:31 am
I’m glad my flailing won’t go unappreciated, haha!
May 10, 2012 at 10:38 am
I’ve decided to branch out, you are now on the Jeff Sinon Photography and Comedy Blog!
May 10, 2012 at 7:38 pm
Wonderful color and form.
~Anne
May 6, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Thanks Anne! As long as that form isn’t on me
May 6, 2012 at 8:04 pm
The image works well for the (unusual) photo theme this week!
May 6, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Thanks a lot Rick. Very unusual theme indeed. Who keeps their out of focus shots on purpose?
May 7, 2012 at 5:34 am
Amazing !!
May 7, 2012 at 1:40 am
Thank you, I knew I was saving that one, lets call it “soft focus” photograph for a reason.
May 7, 2012 at 5:33 am
An excellent shot Jeff. As always great work with this post.
May 8, 2012 at 9:56 am
Thanks Arindam!
May 8, 2012 at 11:02 pm
I stepped away for a few days and have so much to catch up on. Spiders are the one animal that really gives me the heebie jeebies, and these golden orb weavers are #1 on my list. Mainly because this is the one spider I always end up walking into unknowingly. They are remarkable and I have faced my fears by photographing them before. They don’t show up here until around August. I love the PP here and the “unfocused.” It has an “under water” feel to me even though it is green.
May 9, 2012 at 9:23 am
It sure doesn’t help that they are so big that’s for sure. That is the biggest reason they rank so high on my freak out scale!
May 9, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Icky on the spider – but AAA on the image. It looks pretty good to me even unfocused. It must be from seeing all those unfocused photo’s. ~~~~~ : – )
May 10, 2012 at 3:03 pm
Thank you! She was as creepy as she was beautiful.
May 10, 2012 at 7:43 pm
For a picture of something I hate more than anything in the world, it’s a beautiful shot! Funny thing, tarantulas don’t bother me a bit, but spiders make me want to die inside
June 3, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Thanks Stephanie. If I had actually walked through the web, instead of only coming very close to walking through it, you would have heard me freaking out from your house. It would not have been pretty, not pretty at all!
June 3, 2012 at 7:19 pm