Pray mantis for C&C.

[Tight Knot]

Hi all,

Here are a few macros of a pray mantis (not sure if this should be here or in the macro forum).
1a and 1b are the same but rotated.
I couldn't get him/her to co-operate for too long, so I'm pretty happy with these shots.
I would love to hear your opinions.

Thanks,

Bruce

1a.




1b.




2.




3.

 

[astroNikon]

did you have her in a lightbox?
Nice photos. reminds me of my little guys' pet prey mantis

Too bad she didn't spread her wings for you .. that's awesome to see.
I watched ours do that .. but I was watching instead of taking a shot. lol

 

[Tight Knot]

Hi astroNikon,

Nope, not in these shots. They were all taken outdoors against a white wall with bounce flash.

She did not open her wings, just sat there and stared at me, and then took off running (more like wobbling, and weaving).

Which orientation do you prefer out of 1a and 1b?

 

[MLCIII]

Which orientation do you prefer out of 1a and 1b?

Definitely 1b. I'd mask out that little black smudge above the thorax along the right edge.

 

[Raj_55555]

I like 2&3 but honestly feel that it would have been so much better if the entire body was in the shot. Mantis' are great subjects, it's a shame they are not very common here.

 

[Tight Knot]

Which orientation do you prefer out of 1a and 1b?

Definitely 1b. I'd mask out that little black smudge above the thorax along the right edge.

Thanks MLCIII,

Glad you saw that, I missed it.

 

[Tight Knot]

I like 2&3 but honestly feel that it would have been so much better if the entire body was in the shot. Mantis' are great subjects, it's a shame they are not very common here.

Thanks Raj,

I agree that it would have been better with the whole pray mantis in the frame, but I was shooting on top of a 6' step ladder as close as I could get to it without startling her, and couldn't back up to get further away to keep the whole body in the shot.
Oh well, maybe next time :meh:

 

[astroNikon]

I prefer 1b over 1a
but I like 2 & 3 better

You should try shooting from more straight on and don't cut off limbs in the shot.

I have a bunch of closeups which include her munching on crickets. The mandibles are an interesting shot to see the detail.
I may have a few shots of her attacking a cricket too .. but they move super fast.
I'll try to accumulate some that I took and put on my Flickr in the next couple of days.
They aren't the greatest shots as it was in one of those plastic cages for hte most part.

But I love the bugs !!
thanks for sharing

 

[Tight Knot]

I prefer 1b over 1a
but I like 2 & 3 better

You should try shooting from more straight on and don't cut off limbs in the shot.

I have a bunch of closeups which include her munching on crickets. The mandibles are an interesting shot to see the detail.
I may have a few shots of her attacking a cricket too .. but they move super fast.
I'll try to accumulate some that I took and put on my Flickr in the next couple of days.
They aren't the greatest shots as it was in one of those plastic cages for hte most part.

But I love the bugs !!
thanks for sharing

Sounds great astroNikon,
I'm looking forward to seeing them

 

[Tight Knot]

Which orientation do you prefer out of 1a and 1b?

Definitely 1b. I'd mask out that little black smudge above the thorax along the right edge.

Black smudge taken care of. I swapped out the images for the edited ones. Thanks again.

 

[astroNikon]

pics of prey mantis .. not the best but you can see a baby's sack and tons of them pouring out too, and munching on a cricket .. fun stuff
https://www.flickr.com/photos/100677477@N08/sets/72157644595312883/

 

[nzmacro]

Very nice to see and love those greens in there. Good sharp details and well done on the lighting in a tricky situation. ahhhhhh #2, love that pose.

All the best and nicely done.

Danny.

 

[Tight Knot]

Thanks nzmacro

 

[Tight Knot]

pics of prey mantis .. not the best but you can see a baby's sack and tons of them pouring out too, and munching on a cricket .. fun stuff
https://www.flickr.com/photos/100677477@N08/sets/72157644595312883/

Really, really cool Steve. Mother nature is friggin' brilliant!!

Thanks for sharing :thumbup: