I spotted this fine specimen hanging around the front door one morning on my way out to work, so I whipped out the camera and tripod, and got into work a half hour later than expected :) It wasn't in the most photogenic of places originally, so I picked it up on a leaf, and plonked it in a potted pansy, where it contentedly stayed while I snapped away.
Taken with +10/+7 close-up filter, off-camera flash. Cropped for challenge, Some levels, unsharp mask, and neat-image.
Statistics
Place: 2 out of 138 Avg (all users): 7.5210 Avg (commenters): 8.4828 Avg (participants): 7.6420 Avg (non-participants): 7.2632 Views since voting: 8756 Votes: 119 Comments: 40 Favorites: 4 (view)
Well ... what's a half hour of work compared to a ribbon, right? Congrats on a deserved win. I did enjoy reading your description, it sounds just like something I'd do ...
Many thanks to everyone that took the time to leave comments. It's always fascinating to see the broad spectrum of public opinion. I thought the shot would do well, but I wasn't expecting a ribbon!
Great detail - it's unfortunate that the bottom 1/10th of the pic is so OoF, but everything else is exceptional. I wouldn't be surprised if it's top 3. 10
lovely colors and a great close-up of a mantis, I like the composition with the bug creeping up onto the petals. I might have cropped the bottom to loose the blurry bit of petal right corner.
Hey - this one seems friendly. You've captured some excellent detail and got the right focal depth, too. Colors are brilliant. Smudge in lower right is distracting, though (not too big a deal).
This one has great color and is real real close with the focus. I think it is slightly out of focus and oversharpened though. I don't like the blur in the bottom right corner, but I think you were probably forced to leave it in for fear of cropping something off. Good effort. It's real close.
Very good DoF, color definition/lighting, and level of detail in his face. I've never seen a praying mantis that close before, and hope to keep it that way - this photograph shows good enough detail to vaildate that.... nice work.
Excellent clarity and wonderful dof. Colours are just awesome too. I really like this photo, because of the way you have captured the closeness of the creature. Excellent job and GL in this weeks challenge.
oh boy oh boy. we have a winner. my favorite so far. Praying Mantis's are so incredibly bizarre. I haven't seen one in years. Your lucky to have this photo op. Even if I had the chance I wouldn't be able to get shots like this. Amazing focus on this macro. Just superb. 10
Praying Mantis
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
