Getting ready to go on vacation, I was mowing our lawn and came across this huge praying mantis. I popped him into a glass and stuck him in my fridge til I finished mowing. Set up a red posterboard background and a stick in some of that green foam brick flower stuff. Posed him into a bunch of different positions. He was very helpful. I have never really taken any bug shots so this is a first for me. I had intended on doing this for pastels but the basic editing came out ok so I decided rule of thirds instead. I think this fits as his eyes are in the lower 3rd, right? Hope this doesnt drop my average too bad. The red may be a bit too intense for mass appeal. We shall see. I wont see any scor eon this until the Saturday before rollover.
Post process - crop, levels, contrast, slective color, saturation, USM, border, resize for web.
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Damn, that red is bright! I think it's a bit too bright. It competes with your subject. Other than that, this is cool. Nice use of thirds and a cool looking little beastie.
He's wonderful. Nice catch and nice PP. I almost entered something kinda similar (a little less menacing tho ;-). I just hope the intense background doesn't drag you down.
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