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Michael Lloyd
08-20-2009, 09:23 PM
I found this guy just off the Burro Mesa Pouroff trail in Big Bend National Park today. I originally shot it with a 70-200 f2.8L IS but didn't like what I got with it so I ran to the truck and grabbed my 180mm macro and ring flash.

EOS1DsMKIII manual
180mm f3.5L macro lens with Canon Ring flash ETTL -2/3 handheld

ISO 400
1/250s @f10

Alfred Forns
08-21-2009, 11:03 AM
Hi Michael

Neat finding a Mantis Excellent point of focus keeping the mantis sharp, sure wish you could have gotten it in the open but that is one tough insect !!! ... btw that bg looks really good .. just some of those oof foreground!

Connie Mier
08-21-2009, 01:15 PM
Very cool to capture one of these bugs, they hide so well!

Julie Kenward
08-21-2009, 05:06 PM
Hey Michael! Neat image...for me, the OOF branches in front of the body take away from the impact of the mantis a bit. These guys are hard to get in the clear because they are so darn long but I think you did the best you could. BG is not bad but if you could have captured a BG that was a different color from the mantis it would have really set it off even more.

Give me another ring on the Facebook thing - I think I still had my old email address on there when you sent it over and I never got it.

Michael Lloyd
08-21-2009, 05:10 PM
I agree with all points. If I could have I would have snipped the foreground "branch" off. My model was standing on it :) Background... Yep... I agree. The desert didn't offer me many choices there :)

Mike Moats
08-21-2009, 08:02 PM
Hey Michael, I think you already knew this was a tough shot, and although it's a bit cluttered it is fun trying to make out all the parts this interesting subject.

Michael Lloyd
08-21-2009, 09:29 PM
:) The folks over at Bugguide.Net love shots like this one (apparently a male) :D They are obviously not in it for the photography.