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The Aliens have landed (studio mantis)

Discussion

14 replies
Posted by Des Ong on November 28, 2009 at 4:43 AM
This belongs to my nine year old boy and is a different species to the sillouette shot I posted previously. It is only under the magnification of a macro lens that you realise how alien it looks.

Larger

Des

200mm, 1/80s, f11, iso100, soft boxes.
Posted by Andy Astbury on November 28, 2009 at 4:45 AM
Very striking image Des :wavey: :wavey:
Posted by Peter Woods on November 28, 2009 at 5:09 AM
I like this, a little different from the norm :)
Posted by Kim Connolly on November 28, 2009 at 5:19 AM
A really dramatic composition, I like it very much
Posted by Chris O'Reilly on November 28, 2009 at 10:00 AM
They are weird looking creatures.

Nice studio shot that is very well lit. Like the comp.

Cheers,
Chris
Posted by Lewis Thomson on November 28, 2009 at 10:56 AM

Hi Des,

Another top class macro! Very strange looking creature.

Cheers,

Lewis.
:toast:
Posted by PhilH on November 28, 2009 at 11:01 AM
A splendid looking species, great to see... Its not quite working for me though Des, I can see where you are going with the composition, I think it would benefit from having more of the thorax included, the cut off here feels a little awkward for me... saying that it is all down to personal opinion.

:toast: :wavey: :toast:
Posted by Craig Jones on November 28, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Stunning :cool: :cool: :cool: love the colour against the BG and the light on the subject which brings out the lovely brown's,very nice Des :wink: :wavey:
Posted by Des Ong on November 28, 2009 at 2:24 PM
Phil - I see what you mean. I just had a play with another shot that showed more of the thorax, and it does work, but only as a square crop. In full frame, it's a little 'top heavy' as the front part of the body is very thin and long for this particular species. Will have a go with a different species.

Thanks all for your input.

Des
Posted by eric weight on November 28, 2009 at 2:39 PM
You have got a lovely warm light on this Des which really shows off the colours to their best advantage. I could see that this subject might have a myriad of different crops that might work, but I like this one for starters.
:toast: Eric
Posted by Ian Butler on November 28, 2009 at 4:02 PM
Thats a bizzarre looking insect but captured beuatifully Des. The head is amazing. almost looks a dragon. Loving your studio shots at the moment. Inspirational to say the least! :toast: :toast: :toast:
Posted by Ian Haskell on November 29, 2009 at 7:06 AM
I like it, but would like a bit more on the right of the image. I think it would be interesting to see the whole mantis too against the black background. Nice textures on the mantis and use of light.

Ian
Posted by Matt Cole on November 29, 2009 at 7:40 AM
Phil took the words out of my mouth Des. A nice looking image but I would also like a bit more thorax. Otherwise perfect though. I wish we had these in the wild in the UK. :smile:

Matt
Posted by Guy Rogers on November 29, 2009 at 1:39 PM
Hello Des.

A superb closeup and very stricking image. That is is something else.

:wavey: :wavey: :wavey:
Posted by Greg Hitchcock on November 29, 2009 at 2:25 PM
Great shot Des, very dramatic! kinda like the 'walking into the frame' composition.

Don't know if you're familiar with the work of Igor Siwanowicz - also really good at this sort of thing. http://photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=768656

Greg