New here...looking to photograph

[Josh Shamsi]

Hey all, cool site! I've been fascinated by spiders for a long time and while I don't live in a place where there are any tarantulas (CT) I do travel to the Bahia region of Brazil about 3-4 times a year for work where I understand there is an abundance of them. I am a photographer and I love to photograph spiders. I don't have any images of tarantulas yet but as soon as I spot one it's portrait time. Any tips on how/where to look for tarantulas in the wild? Anything I need to know so as not to be harmful or destructive? Thanks!

 

[Nada]

Welcome to the fold.
Do you keep, or just photograph? There's tons of em out here (Arizona) If you want to find some in the US.

 

[DalilahBlue]

There are sections of Florida where some species, such as B. vagans, have naturalized.

 

[DalilahBlue]

As far as looking in the wild, it depends on the region where you should look...most T's are either arboreal or burrowing in the wild. Do some research about the specific locales you will be visiting. In my opinion photographing New World arboreals will be more difficult since they a) are arboreal, and b) are typically fairly small. As for the burrowing types, find a burrow, and hang out and wait to see if any prey wanders by. I wouldn't advise messing with wild T's as some have a potent bite.

There are many great arachnologists out there that share their stories on the web such as Don Buckle, Dr. Robert Holmberg and Rick West.

 

[Josh Shamsi]

Welcome to the fold.
Do you keep, or just photograph? There's tons of em out here (Arizona) If you want to find some in the US.

I don't keep although maybe that's in my future somewhere. For now I'm just interested in photos. Thanks for the Arizona rec. I do get out west occasionally.

 

[Josh Shamsi]

As far as looking in the wild, it depends on the region where you should look...most T's are either arboreal or burrowing in the wild. Do some research about the specific locales you will be visiting. In my opinion photographing New World arboreals will be more difficult since they a) are arboreal, and b) are typically fairly small. As for the burrowing types, find a burrow, and hang out and wait to see if any prey wanders by. I wouldn't advise messing with wild T's as some have a potent bite.

There are many great arachnologists out there that share their stories on the web such as Don Buckle, Dr. Robert Holmberg and Rick West.

I have family in FL so I'll definitely look next time I'm down there. Thanks for the names of the arachnologists. I will check them out. Yeah, I'm not sure how eager I am to mess with any wild T's, especially considering I have no experience in doing so but I'd really like to see some. I'll definitely proceed with caution and hang out by a burrow like you said.