I took this picture on Serpentine Lake, a secluded lake in the Apsley area of Ontario in June of 2003.
When I first saw this shadow spider, it was as the sun was setting on an absolutely windless day. The water was like I'd never seen it before: absolutely calm. As I paddled around the still lake, the reflection of the shoreline in the water was spell-binding. I could not tell where reality ended and the reflection began. I would look down into the water, and be looking up into the sky.
As I paddled around an outcrop of rock, I saw this image before me: the shadow of a 20 foot spider. I sat and stared at it in awe as the sun sank behind me, and the shadow changed into something unrecognizeable. I realized how lucky I had been to have been in the right place at the right time, as the spider was only visible for about 10 minutes. I cursed the fact that I hadn't brought my camera!
I returned to the lake two weeks later with camera in hand, and although I was able to photograph the spider, the water conditions weren't as ideal this time around.
One of these days, I will finish my painting of the spider showing what it looked like when I first saw it.