Adam Hakim Hogg's Image

To photograph this nocturnal spider without disturbing it, Adam and his dad set up the camera and flash in the daylight, then crept back at night to wait. ‘When the spider does come out it’s like a bullet,’ says Adam, ‘it makes you jump every time.’ Adam loves the thrill of night walks in the rainforest, even if it takes three days to get one image.

Trapdoor spiders lie in their silken burrows, camouflaged with plant matter. Their feet are in contact with the strands of silk that radiate out from the entrance, waiting for unsuspecting prey to stumble on the trip lines. But trapdoor spiders are not easily fooled – a single twitch isn’t enough, they only pounce when a few lines are tugged.