Mini Mantis

[Stagecoach]

I could not resist this one, a youngster with a body around 15mm long but he still had so much character and showed the same friendship as the adults. The major difference was that it was impossible to train him and he's a great runner.

All taken with 105VR, flash in manual.







Comments and suggestions welcome as always.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[Stagecoach]

Nice capture.

Thank you John.

[bnnrcn]

I like them very much Grahame,especially the look in the eyes when he is running away:-)

[deetheturk]

Great images Grahame,these little guys have soooo much character,keeping my fingers crossed that i can find one in the summer

Cheers David

[NorthernFocus]

I don't know how you guys do this stuff.... They eyes and antennae really look cool. I'm no bug expert but it looks to me like you got good eye contact in all three shots

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

All truly exquisite. Really hard to choose a favourite, if pressed I might say the first image for the extraordinarily sharp eye and profile position.

I love how you capture the personality of these guys.

[Catalina]

Very interesting creature.
Cordially,
Catalina

[Stagecoach]

I like them very much Grahame,especially the look in the eyes when he is running away:-)

Thanks Binnur, running away was something he seemed to enjoy

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Great images Grahame,these little guys have soooo much character,keeping my fingers crossed that i can find one in the summer

Cheers David

Hi David,

I highly recommend you find yourself one they are a pleasure to work with.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

I don't know how you guys do this stuff.... They eyes and antennae really look cool. I'm no bug expert but it looks to me like you got good eye contact in all three shots

Dan,

The way we do it is to use the same determination to achieve a good result as you do when taking your bird shots.

Eye contact is easy with these guys as they watch and follow your every movement normally but what I did learn on this occasion is that with this guy there was absolutely no way he would remain in the opposite direction and look at me, strange.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame,

All truly exquisite. Really hard to choose a favourite, if pressed I might say the first image for the extraordinarily sharp eye and profile position.

I love how you capture the personality of these guys.

Hi Christina,

Getting focus on the eye with this size one I found quite a struggle and had no where near as many keepers as normal but just to get a few is still rewarding of the effort and fun.

I want to do an image where one is reflected on a surface but still wondering how to achieve this

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Very interesting creature.
Cordially,
Catalina

Hello Catalina,

Thank you for commenting. They certainly are interesting and fun to shoot, which is what photography is all about for me.

Grahame

[Brownbear]

Well, you manage to do so with perfection.

I wonder if a mirror or a piece of glass acting like a mirror would work? Either the mantis would be interested in it's reflection and model for you, OR not = runaway mantis and more exercise for the photographer

Hi Christina,

Getting focus on the eye with this size one I found quite a struggle and had no where near as many keepers as normal but just to get a few is still rewarding of the effort and fun.

I want to do an image where one is reflected on a surface but still wondering how to achieve this

Grahame

[Wavelength]

I would name the series "A proud Pianist"
A great work....

[FrankMi]

These work really well against the dark background Grahame, it complements the green coloring of the mantis.

What is he sitting on in the first two shots?

[Stagecoach]

These work really well against the dark background Grahame, it complements the green coloring of the mantis.

What is he sitting on in the first two shots?

Frank,

It's a stone, and almost every time I carefully rotated it to get him positioned better he would jump onto my hand, amusing but hard work.

With the first two here I had placed a plant behind to try and get something other than a stark black background but if I put it closer so it got more light he would jump onto it as in No 3.

I have an idea now that if I place something farther behind and light it separately I should be able to get a complimentary coloured bokek.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

I would name the series "A proud Pianist"
A great work....

Thank you Nandakumar, I'll see if I can find a small piano

Grahame

[Bobobird]

Lovely guy and he just had to have you do his portraits.

Beautiful guys to work with.

An idea for you to work on next time - place them on a mirror or darkened glass.

[IzzieK]

I am late to this show again... what can I say that hasn't been said. Anyway, I love the way you and this creature interact with one another. Playtime for both of you...