Mantapology

[Don Ellis]

It's an apology for all those bored with this bug, but I don't really go looking for them... they just appear. In this case, he was walking in front of my nose on the kitchen screen. We'd met before so I stuck out my hand, he climbed on and I put him on a plant...

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/fm/mantis-002.jpg

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/fm/mantis-001.jpg

Sprucing up for the final photo...

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/fm/mantis-003.jpg

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/fm/mantis-004.jpg

Cheers,

Don

Details: G2 with Hoya +10 and B+W +5.

[henkbos]

Great shots. Seems that you have found a friend. The 4th looks like a funny candid shot. Good work.

[pappy]

What an excellent series of photos. Number 4 looks like it's asking if there's any spinach in it's teeth ;)

regards,
peter

[RedShoesGirl]

Great group of shots. I was wondering though, why his legs look a little funny in the last shot. Are the very ends tucked in somewhere - they look truncated?

RSG

[new girl on the bloc]

these are fantastic don. seems you do indeed have yourself a friend in the mantis.

[marie]

they show almost unbelievable expressions and antics .
great cartoon looking charactors

:)


regards
marie

ps
its been bugging me to ask this
but are those black dots really their tiny liitle eyes Don ?
I love the shots .

[Conk]

I never get sick of seeing your mantis shots Don. Awesome always. You seem to have a personal relationship with this/these guy(s).

[jinzou]

don't apologize, I love these bugs. And you've done such an excellent job in capturing them! :)

[robekert]

Don,
Might be the same bug, but you keep it fresh with interesting shots. I like #3. Mantis' reminds me of something I have been meaning to tell you......

My daughter is in 4th grade. In their science class, the topic was bugs. When they got to the mantis my daughter raised her hand and said "My Daddy has a friend on the internet that takes pictures of praying mantis' all the time". (she occasionally is looking over my shoulder) "He has a website". I gave her the web address, and in the next class, your mantis pages were the focus of their discussions. They have web access in their classrooms, and were able to view the pages at their work stations.

Thought you would get a kick out of the story.

Rob

[charr5]

Don,
Don't appologize for great shots of a great subject. I especially like the one where his head is turned and looking straight at you.
I am very envious...I have been doing macro insect photography as a hobbie for years and have yet to see one of these guys out and about for a photo shoot!

Maybe some day...
Great work,

CMH

[Don Ellis]

RedShoesGirl wrote:
Great group of shots. I was wondering though, why his legs look a little funny in the last shot. Are the very ends tucked in somewhere - they look truncated?

RSG
Think jackknife... you're seeing his "wrists" with his "hands" folded in. Here's a photo with the knives out...

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/fm/mantis-009.jpg

Thanks for your comments.

Don

[Don Ellis]

Henk, New Girl... yes, I do think he's a friend. When I held out my hand, he jumped right on... giving me the usual problem of getting him off again.

Peter... not spinach... this is a carnivore. :)

Marie... thank you. I used to wonder if I'd have new ways to photograph these guys but something always seems to present itself.

Colin... glad you're still hanging in there. :) Every once in a while, I see a new mantid and think, "What am I going to do with this one -- maybe ignore it." But I never do and I usually find some new way to shoot it -- which only makes sense since they're all individuals.

Noire/Jinzou... thank you. I think one of the reasons it's easy to relate to these animals is that they have faces and they look at you. Who needs alien creatures with these friendly, fearsome guys and girls.

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to look and leave a message.

Don

[Don Ellis]

robekert wrote:
Don,
Might be the same bug, but you keep it fresh with interesting shots. I like #3. Mantis' reminds me of something I have been meaning to tell you......

My daughter is in 4th grade. In their science class, the topic was bugs. When they got to the mantis my daughter raised her hand and said "My Daddy has a friend on the internet that takes pictures of praying mantis' all the time". (she occasionally is looking over my shoulder) "He has a website". I gave her the web address, and in the next class, your mantis pages were the focus of their discussions. They have web access in their classrooms, and were able to view the pages at their work stations.

Thought you would get a kick out of the story.

Rob
Hi Robert... I'm very pleased they served some educational purpose.

I hope they found both galleries:
http://www.kleptography.com/gallery-mantis.htm
plus a "line" gallery that scrolls left to right at
http://www.kleptography.com/linegallery-irmantis_color.htm

A lot of people miss the line galleries because there's only a text link -- when I have time, I'll convert them. They're starting to get too large.

Thanks for sharing. Tell your daughter that Mr. Mantis says hello.

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

charr5 wrote:
Don,
Don't appologize for great shots of a great subject. I especially like the one where his head is turned and looking straight at you.
I am very envious...I have been doing macro insect photography as a hobbie for years and have yet to see one of these guys out and about for a photo shoot!

Maybe some day...
Great work,

CMH
Hi Chris,

Thanks for writing. I'm sorry that you haven't found one but now that I think of it, I believe it's because we have a small garden surrounded by concrete that we can find these guys. If I were just wandering around the forest, I'd never see them.

A few weeks ago, I just finished taking 824 mantis shots and we were late for a dinner in town. As I was shutting the bathroom window, I saw the biggest walking stick I've ever seen inside or outside a museum lying along the grillwork on our bathroom window. Because we were late and I don't capture my animals for future shoots, when we returned he was gone.

In a way, it doesn't matter. Even looking at him from just inches away, he was a stick. If he hadn't been hanging onto a square metal bar, I would never have seen him... so I might as well just take a stick and photograph it and pass it off. :)

The only reason I don't is I don't figure a stick picture would be very interesting. :p Besides, Marie is keeping an eye on me after the snowstorm.

Here's to you getting your own mantis shot someday.

Don

[CyberDyneSystems]

These are fantastic as usual,.

I love the third image where "Doctor Mantis" is contemplating her next procedure,......

"...hmmmmm,... "
//scratches chin and nods knowingly

[new girl on the bloc]

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
These are fantastic as usual,.

I love the third image where "Doctor Mantis" is contemplating her next procedure,......

"...hmmmmm,... "
//scratches chin and nods knowingly

perfect analysis, and funny!

[RedShoesGirl]

Thanks Don for the extra photo explaining his "wrists".

RSG who sure wishes she had cool bugs around here.



Don Ellis wrote:
RedShoesGirl wrote:
Great group of shots. I was wondering though, why his legs look a little funny in the last shot. Are the very ends tucked in somewhere - they look truncated?

RSG
Think jackknife... you're seeing his "wrists" with his "hands" folded in. Here's a photo with the knives out...
...

Thanks for your comments.

Don

[RedShoesGirl]

Don,

I just took a look at your web page and simply loved the mantis shots. Especially the running commentary. The images are wonderful but the added dialogue is just classic. The guy leaning over the bar is priceless!

lara

[KevinG3]

Don,

Those are some awsome photos. They are very crisp and I love what you've done with the borders - the black border with the green thin line that plays off of the color of the Mantis. These are cool looking creatures - I can't help but think that they look like aliens, at least their head and eyes do. I actually had an experience witth one on the tennis court one evening...I noticed one of these guys in my court and every time I would step back to hit the ball he would get this aggressive stance - He was kind of freaking me out so I asked my friend to hold on while I shoed the Mantis off with my towel. Yeah right - As soon as I slung my towel at him he came flying at me all aggressive-like and I ran around screaming like a little girl. Anyway, I think they are somewhat more personable (if that's the right word) than other bugs.

Sorry this is so long- But I thought this would be a good time to share that story. Wonderful pictures! They defintely bring back some memories. :)

KevinG3

[KevinG3]

Don-

How do you like your Hoya +10 lens? I have the Hoya +1, +2 and +4 but I've read that stacking them too deep can detract from the quality of the picture - So I am considering buying a +10.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Don Ellis]

RedShoesGirl wrote:
Don,

I just took a look at your web page and simply loved the mantis shots. Especially the running commentary. The images are wonderful but the added dialogue is just classic. The guy leaning over the bar is priceless!

lara
You slipped! Now I know your name. :)

Thanks very much... glad you liked the last guy in the bar. I always liked it but your the first person to comment on it.

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

KevinG3 wrote:
Don,

Those are some awsome photos. They are very crisp and I love what you've done with the borders - the black border with the green thin line that plays off of the color of the Mantis. These are cool looking creatures - I can't help but think that they look like aliens, at least their head and eyes do. I actually had an experience witth one on the tennis court one evening...I noticed one of these guys in my court and every time I would step back to hit the ball he would get this aggressive stance - He was kind of freaking me out so I asked my friend to hold on while I shoed the Mantis off with my towel. Yeah right - As soon as I slung my towel at him he came flying at me all aggressive-like and I ran around screaming like a little girl. Anyway, I think they are somewhat more personable (if that's the right word) than other bugs.

Sorry this is so long- But I thought this would be a good time to share that story. Wonderful pictures! They defintely bring back some memories. :)

KevinG3
Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the comments and the story. They do look pretty fearsome but I've discovered they're more inquisitive than anything else. Obviously they're bold as well -- being inquisitive about something that's several times larger than you is pretty brave.

Next time just put your hand under his chin as you would a parakeet and there's every chance he'll hop on. There's also every chance he'll then walk up your arm and sit on your shoulder.

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

KevinG3 wrote:
Don-

How do you like your Hoya +10 lens? I have the Hoya +1, +2 and +4 but I've read that stacking them too deep can detract from the quality of the picture - So I am considering buying a +10.

Thanks,

Kevin
The +10 is great... and I've added a B+W +5 to give me some latitiude -- +5, +10, +15 (the Hoya +10 is front-threaded).

I've heard the more glass you stack the poorer your photos but I think the difference is almost nil. The bigger problem with stacking a +10 with the other three in the basic Hoya set is the vignetting.

I've used all four together but much prefer the two I have now... much less fussy that trying to deal with four filters. Obviously, you'll have at least +14 with a +10 and the +4 you already have.

As you no doubt know, the greater the diopters, the shallower the depth of field. With +14 or 15, there's very little.

Let me know what you decide.

Don

[Laziferous]

Hmm... I always admire your photos, but rarely reply, because I really don't know what to say. They are always superb. I learn about photography by simply looking at your photos. I'll just say thank you, for sharing your pictures with us all. They are a great tool for learning, and a goal for us to try and achieve that quality.

I think if I were a chick, I'd want to date you. And I think if I were a butt kisser, I would say that I think I would want to date you if I were a chick. D'oh! :D

[Don Ellis]

Laziferous wrote:
Hmm... I always admire your photos, but rarely reply, because I really don't know what to say. They are always superb. I learn about photography by simply looking at your photos. I'll just say thank you, for sharing your pictures with us all. They are a great tool for learning, and a goal for us to try and achieve that quality.

I think if I were a chick, I'd want to date you. And I think if I were a butt kisser, I would say that I think I would want to date you if I were a chick. D'oh! :D
Fortunately, I'm taken... but I'm still susceptible to weird compliments... thank you.

In return, I'll offer you one more shot from this series... a better and certainly more dramatic composition than the first one, since you're taking notes...

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/fm/mantis_cave.jpg

Thanks, Chris...

Don

[iwatkins]

Just great shots with each triggering a caption in my head. Love them.

Cheers

Ian