A few praying mantis shots

Tried to get these on the bush that it was on, but it was a bit too breezy, and I had the shakes (I'm really getting out of practice!!!), so I carefully cut the branch it was off and placed it on a stable surface that was out of the wind and snapped away I have to say that I find focusing on mantis eyes really hard, I have a great deal of difficulty getting them sharp, and it's frustrating. These are the last series of shots taken with my D60, which is due to be retired and replaced by my new 1D Mark IIn The new unit hasn't really been used in anger yet.

Dave

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Well you've done a good job with the eyes in these pics Dave. Very nice shots.

A 1D eh? Looking forward to seeing your shots on that beastie.

Lovely shots - I prefer #2 for the pose lol, its a great background colour too.

Linda

great shots buddie,

Very nice shots my fav is #2
Both shots are really sharp with nice colours, the background in #2 is perfect
Pete

Hiya Dave,

Great shots, #2 is my favorite great BG colour ??

Cheers for now
Mark

Those have been made to be photographed Nice shots.

Thanks guys The background is simply due to the fall of of light, there's still enough light to avoid the black background, but not enough to light up the background properly. I could have probably shot in AV mode and balanced it, but using M mode is still the de rigeur for me

dreamline - I'm no stranger to 1 series cameras, owning both a 1n film camera and a 1D original - I've been using the D60 for the majority of my macro shots in the past 8 months as I'm too lazy to carry around the 1D + flash + offshoe adaptor + flash bracket. The IQ from the 1D is better, especially noise performance, but the D60 and onboard flash was close and convenient. If I sort out my lighting problems with the 430ex/1D combination (flash too harsh imho), I'd be very happy. LordV has already offered me much appreciated advice on what to try, I've just been too lazy to work it The Mark IIn is a different kettle of fish, much better than either the 1D or D60 and I'm loving it, even though it hasn't really been fired in anger yet.

Dave

Nice shots Dave, can't wait until they start to come out of the egg cases( got a few around the house

Good captures Dave- Like #2 best but think the light does make them look a bit flat.
Brian V.