I hadn’t really done anything artistic lately, so I decided to play around with this photo of a spiny orb weaver spider (Gasteracantha cancriformis). My original plan was to make some changes to the colors of the spider itself, but after I had done my basic editing I really liked the colors of the spider as they were. So instead of changing it’s colors, I decided to emphasize them by making the background black and white. The black and white background also helped to make the web stand out. These are some of my favorite little orb weavers because of their complex, beautifully constructed webs and bright colors. They’re pretty common spiders in much of the United States, but interestingly, their color patterns can differ somewhat in different parts of the country.