Steady as she goes...

I decided to give up on being so stubborn and use my monopod. I've been shooting macros handheld for ages and I've managed a few decent shots along the way. But I toss more than I care to admit. That monopod isn't the easiest thing to learn to use in tight situations, but I got it out today and remembered why I bought the darn thing... it works... Many more of my shots were crisp and I was able to reduce the shutter speed for those bugs willing to sit still.
This TINY spider was on one of my pansies (see the actual size here - this pansy is 1 1/2 inches top to bottom). All curled up, I'd say this spider was an 1/8 of an inch at the most (2mm). Zoom in for a closer look.

First thing this morning I knew it was going to be a macro/bug sort of day, as I was greeted by this fork-tailed bush katydid clinging to my screen door. At this point in the day I was still being stubborn and tried this handheld... Wish I had picked up that monopod earlier. Fortunately this bug was much bigger than the spider, measuring in at 2+ inches. So, I was able to get reasonable detail with out my steady stick. ;)