top of page

The Web

Spider webs are made out of seven different types of silk, each suited to a particular aspect of the web: major and minor dragline silks are used for the outer rim and spokes and also for the lifeline; spiral silk is used for the capturing lines, tubular silk is used for the protective egg sacs; achiniform silk is used for wrap and secure prey; silk glue sticks to the prey and piriform silk is used to join the separate threads.
The images are the culmination of the various stages of my photographic method: observation; visualisation; and  realisation. Firstly, noticing the effects of sunlight on the silk threads, then visualising how they could be represented (assuming I could get myself and my camera into the necesssary position!). Then pressing the shutter and finally developing the raw image files in order to realise what I had visualised. They were taken in my back garden  using a full frame dSLR with an image stabilising macro lens with extension tubes thus producing a greater magnification than 1:1 where necessary.
The coloured bands are caused by the diffraction of sunlight by the spiral threads and the sticky silk droplets.

bottom of page