As I was walking on the fairly unused section of the trail I almost walking into an occupied spiderweb. (Prior to this my camera settings were: f/8 ~ 1/1000 sec ~ Auto ISO ~ 500mm for bird photography)
In the first photo I was about 5 feet away and the background was 20+ feet behind. The Sun peeked through the branches just enough to light the scene. Handheld at 500mm ~ f/8, I needed to be steady to keep everything in manual focus as the DoF is about 1/8".
The second photo is a different web that was broken with a strand floating in the breeze in and out of the light shaft. Shot also at 500mm ~ f/8 but the distance was about 15 feet away so I had around 1-2" to play with. I used manual focus and took my time adjusting as the breeze blew the wisp in and out of the light.
ISO set to AUTO
Photo 1: f/8 ~ 1/250 ~ ISO 4000 ~ 500mm
Photo 2: f/8 ~ 1/320 ~ ISO 40000 ~ 500mm
This was the uninteresting part of my walk, photographing someone eating.
Actually, I find this one most interesting. The bird looks angry! "Don't you dare steal my meal!"
I think your 1st picture is very well-crafted Dean. You have done a great job of catching the subject in front of the wonderfully light bokeh you have in the background - that really makes the image for me.
I admire those who are able to get usable bird pictures - I have neither the lens nor patience required.