I was very lucky to even notice this spider on a patio light, just as it was getting ready to shed its skin.
It was so small, and the light was so bad, that I didn't ever realize what I had until I got the images on my
computer screen. (This kind of thing happens to me with embarassing frequency.)
Normally, I would have taken no more than ten or a dozen shots and moved on.However, it was really difficult
to focus on the spider, as the camera's auto-focus mechanism kept locking on the bright white web.
This turned out to be a very lucky thing. Because I couldn't be sure whether I was getting good shots,
I kept on shooting, trusting that if I took enough photos, at least some of them would be in focus.
As it turned out, this spider had come out of hiding to molt. If I had gotten several good shots and quit,
I would never have gotten this fairly detailed sequence.
This is great. Thanks for sharing your fascinating photos. I was able to watch a spider molting this morning on my bathroom ceiling. I was going to catch it and escort it outside when I noticed it swaying back and forth. I thought it might be dying, so I left it alone for awhile. I kept checking on it and got to see the molting process. Unfortunately, it was a small light colored spider against a white ceiling, so I did not attempt to take any photos. It's currently resting along with its skin while it grows into its new exoskeleton.