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Praying Mantis
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Praying Mantis

by Dennis Plank

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted September 22, 2013370 views17 comments
Not exactly a natural bg for this one. It found it's way onto our back porch and then one of the cats found it. It assumed this very interesting defensive posture with the wings spread to exaggerate body size and the forelimbs raised in such a way as to turn them and the thorax and head into one large mask with the spots on the legs acting like the eye spots on the wings of butterflies. This image doesn't quite capture the "mask" as well as I'd wish, but if you "defocus" your eyes a trifle, I think it pops out. I would have liked more dof, but the porch is covered and I had limited light to work with.

5Diii, 180mm f3.5 macro, hand held, f9, 1/200, iso 2000, Av mode with no compensation. Processed in CS6 and cropped to 15.8MP. Taken September 3rd at 11:17 am.

Your comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for looking,

Comments

17 comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on September 22, 2013 at 4:22 PM
Great capture of this mantis. I've never see a photo of a mantis posed like this. The pose is just outstanding, Dennis. Good job getting low and isolating the mantis from the bg. My only very minor suggestion would be to crop a little off the left. :toast:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Balan Vinod on September 23, 2013 at 9:03 AM
Hey Dennis ..a favorite subject of mine ...This is a top class image ...with the color combination ..and the pose ..something very unique ...this image will stay in my mind for long ...well done

Balan Vinod
Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on September 23, 2013 at 12:17 PM
Fine capture, Dennis - and in this instance I think the dof works very well to put the emphasis on the main aspect of this posture. Beautiful tonality throughout and perfectly good light. Like it a lot !!
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Ester van Dam on September 24, 2013 at 3:55 AM
Great pose (not like any i have ever seen before) and i like the dof . Great Shot!
Registered on August 30, 2011, 50 Posts, 103 Comments
Comment posted by Mike Ramy on September 24, 2013 at 9:38 AM
Outstanding Image Dennis,
The pose, the colors, the detail and the DOF are all excellent and the angle of this shot you managed puts the viewer right at 'Action Level'.
Well Done . . . :toast:
Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments
Comment posted by John Tobias on September 24, 2013 at 10:31 PM
Outstanding image, I agree!! Don't think I have ever seen one with those spots showing. Sharp where it counts. Thanks for sharing. Any idea what species this is?
Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on September 26, 2013 at 1:28 PM
Great find :toast: :toast: I, too, have never seen this posturing from a mantis. Very cool. This one deserves a more interesting title - like Japanese Dancer or The Boxer (looks likes he's ready to do battle).......not just praying mantis. Really sparks my imagination for a caption. :jump:
Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments
Comment posted by Wayne Jones on September 27, 2013 at 12:54 PM
Wow, this mantis was really showing off for you! Outstanding pose and lighting.
My only nit is the composition. I wonder if might look better with more space on the right, and less on the left, or perhaps even a square composition to better show off such an interesting subject.
Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy VanSwearingen on September 27, 2013 at 4:36 PM
I agree with Wayne....a little less space on the left would be nice.
This is still the most awesome insect shot, that I've ever seen. I mean it! :toast:
Registered on May 23, 2009, 800 Posts, 2042 Comments
Comment posted by Max Waugh on October 3, 2013 at 6:37 PM
Really cool, Dennis. I love the pose here. I've never seen one with the wings extended like this.

Max
Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments
Comment posted by Balan Vinod on October 4, 2013 at 12:26 AM
Hey Dennis ..Congrats on the WP ! :toast:

Balan Vinod
Registered on March 20, 2006, 889 Posts, 2312 Comments
Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on October 4, 2013 at 10:24 PM
GREAT PICK!!!

And much better here than "lost" in PNWNP, where relatively few NPN'ers would see it.
Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments
Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on October 5, 2013 at 6:01 AM
Great capture, great pose.
Congrats on the WP!
D&L
Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments
Comment posted by Roger Leekam on October 8, 2013 at 5:07 PM
Congratulations, Dennis! You got this guy in the perfect peek-a-boo stance with stunning sharpness. A tightly cropped portrait would also work well, and I might even prefer it. Great work!
Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on October 11, 2013 at 10:03 PM
Hi Dennis :wavey: Congrats on a well deserved WP :toast: :toast:
Albert Darmo
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on November 10, 2013 at 7:12 PM
Love this one Dennis!! :jump:
Congratulations :wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Lucy Aron on January 27, 2014 at 10:57 AM
Love the unusual action dynamic. Dark spot upper right is somewhat distracting though. Fine shot.
Registered on February 25, 2011, 189 Posts, 1160 Comments