A spider I happened to notice a while back while out and about. Its markings and size caught my eye, as it was very different from the spiders I typically see around here. I doubt they are rare, but it was new to me and I wanted to get a close up picture. It might not look particularly close, but it's a phone camera with no optical zoom. I was only a couple of inches from the subject and didn't want to disturb them.
Yeah it's possible. I am no stranger to hiking and these little ones have stayed out of my sight while doing it over the years. This one however was just sitting on a wall, waiting to be discovered! Also I can imagine, suddenly running into a spider like this and its web right outside your door would be quite a sudden shock!