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Ken Childs
08-19-2011, 02:59 PM
Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Manual mode
1/500"
F18
ISO 200
Canon 430EX: On, Fired
HH
LR & CS3

I've been really busy this spring and summer so I haven't had much time for photography other than my middle of the night moth forays. I also get many other types of bugs attracted to my moth attracting setup, some of which are predators. This mantidfly is enjoying a meal of a moth. The flash does crazy things to the eyes of some of these nocturnal bugs.

Some flash highlights were cloned out or painted over. Cropped, whites cleaned up with a selective color layer, applied high pass and smart sharpening.

Steve Maxson
08-20-2011, 09:51 AM
Hi Ken. Manstisflies are very cool insects! I occasionally see the ones that mimic paper wasps, but I haven't seen this species up here. This is a very nice "studio" portrait and the action/behavior takes it up several notches. The sharpness and detail are excellent, the light is well handled, and the eye reflection is pretty wild! It might be nice if some of the background texture wasn't there, but that's a minor point for me. This is very well done!

jack williamson
08-20-2011, 11:09 AM
Glad you are back Ken. This is a real neat image. I don't know if I have ever seen a mantisfly before. Looks sharp and well lit. I saw a picture of one of these taken in daylight and it had that same star shape in the eye.

Jack

Dave Leroy
08-21-2011, 09:13 AM
Boy you people come up with some great behavior shots. Gotta love the action. The diagonal composition adds to the powerful feel to photo.
I don't mind the textured look to the bg. For me it adds to the stark reality of the situation.
No pressure but looking forward to more.
Dave

John Storjohann
08-21-2011, 11:48 AM
Hi Ken.

Great shot...well lit, good compositional lines, wonderful sharpness and detail...I've never seen this particular insect, and the wild eye color and pattern sets it off even more. Like Steve, I think I'd like it even better without the texture of the BG, but with an image like this that's a small thing. Well done....looking forward to more!

Brendan Dozier
08-22-2011, 12:58 AM
This is wild looking, Ken! Nice job capturing this behavior - Great detail and I like the white BG, but agree with Steve that maybe less texture of moth paper. Maybe rasing the levels of BG so its kind of like a high-key look with some soft shadows left. Hope you are able to post more.