Two white plate orb spiders

The garden is scattered with orb spiders, including the ubiquitous garden spider Araneus diadematus (above) sat in the middle of their webs during the day, and females, now laden with eggs, are very obvious. But there is a smaller species of orb spider can easily pass unnoticed despite being common in gardens, its the beautifully named, more delicate Metellina segmentata, also known as autumn spider (below). It has longer front legs, and there is a round empty space in the middle of her web. But days are shorter and the sun not as strong, and I miss natural light when taking photos. The orb spiders pose a challenge for my usual white bowl spider portrait technique: they are not walking spiders, and they are at their most comfortable hanging from their webs. So, for these shots of spiders in the garden I replaced my usual white bowl by a large white plate, which I carefully held behind each web while I took their portraits.