# Ghost adult :)



## yeatzee (Sep 25, 2009)

let me know what you think


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## sbugir (Sep 25, 2009)

Beauty.


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## MantidLord (Sep 25, 2009)

pathetic. Nah, I'm playing  , that looks awesome, is it a female?


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## idolomantis (Sep 25, 2009)

lemmiwinks said:


> Beauty.


Agreed.


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## bassist (Sep 25, 2009)

MantidLord said:


> pathetic. Nah, I'm playing  , that looks awesome, is it a female?


He's a male.


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## hibiscusmile (Sep 25, 2009)

Looks like a chocolate bunny! haha, it is beautiful, looks like u put a shine on him !


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## hibiscusmile (Sep 25, 2009)

ps, the eye in the middle is weird looking, dont usually see it up close and the antennas look fake like a string of pearls, u did good!


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## mantidsaresweet (Sep 25, 2009)

That looks great. I can't wait until mine get bigger


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## yen_saw (Sep 26, 2009)

Nice yeatzee. Is it Nikon camera? You have a female for him?


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## yeatzee (Sep 26, 2009)

lemmiwinks said:


> Beauty.


Thank you  



MantidLord said:


> pathetic. Nah, I'm playing  , that looks awesome, is it a female?


Its a male. You can tell with this species by simply looking at their crown. Males have long "zig-zaggy" thin crowns while females have fat stubby crowns.



hibiscusmile said:


> ps, the eye in the middle is weird looking, dont usually see it up close and the antennas look fake like a string of pearls, u did good!


I thought the exact same thing.... the simple eyes look like they are almost glued on! I'll try to post a crop of them later. 


mantidsaresweet said:


> That looks great. I can't wait until mine get bigger


It took them forever but its worth it  


yen_saw said:


> Nice yeatzee. Is it Nikon camera? You have a female for him?


Im a pentaxian myself (im going to guess you've never heard of pentax? Best camera and lenses for the money IMO). And yes, my female (I only have for 3 other males &lt;_&lt; ) just molted to adult last night B)


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## yeatzee (Sep 26, 2009)

Here's one showing 80% of his antennae!


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## yeatzee (Sep 27, 2009)

quick question.... do females of this species fly?


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## ABbuggin (Sep 27, 2009)

yeatzee said:


> quick question.... do females of this species fly?


No.


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## Katnapper (Sep 27, 2009)

VERY nice pics, Tanner...


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## yeatzee (Sep 27, 2009)

ABbuggin said:


> No.


alright thanks. My female moved pretty far when I turned my head and she was out of her cage so I assumed she flew but I guess she just hopped (sp?).



Katnapper said:


> VERY nice pics, Tanner...


gracias


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## superfreak (Sep 27, 2009)

Wow, these are so sharp! Very cool!


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## yeatzee (Sep 28, 2009)

superfreak said:


> Wow, these are so sharp! Very cool!


The amazingness that is a macro lens B)


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## yen_saw (Sep 28, 2009)

Nice pic! The antenna looks like it will go to the roof! Pentax lenses? I will read about the. Thanks!


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## kamakiri (Sep 28, 2009)

Nice work. Looks like you're putting the tubes to good use. I like the 2nd 'portrait' shot the best.

I also like the 3rd shot composition. I'd fix what looks like a green square at the chin.


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## yeatzee (Sep 28, 2009)

kamakiri said:


> Nice work. Looks like you're putting the tubes to good use. I like the 2nd 'portrait' shot the best.I also like the 3rd shot composition. I'd fix what looks like a green square at the chin.


Oh wow, I just noticed that "green square." Its from a leaf in the bokeh I suppose. Well that just about ruins the picture &lt;_&lt; I've got to be more conscious of whats in the background!

I like picture 2 best also. Too bad the light is so harsh


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## yeatzee (Sep 28, 2009)

yen_saw said:


> Nice pic! The antenna looks like it will go to the roof! Pentax lenses? I will read about the. Thanks!


Its super long.... and than curls at the end. It looks hilarious :lol: 

Also Yen I can use any lens *ever* created by pentax (they have been around as long as nikon and canon, and were considered one of the best in slr days) meaning cheap awesome lenses. Infact the extension tubes are nearly 30 years old! Likewise my favorite lens out of my kit is the same age as the tubes and only cost me $30!

EDIT: I posted a crop of the first image with IMO is much better composition wise.


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## kamakiri (Sep 28, 2009)

yeatzee said:


> Oh wow, I just noticed that "green square." Its from a leaf in the bokeh I suppose. Well that just about ruins the picture &lt;_&lt; I've got to be more conscious of whats in the background!I like picture 2 best also. Too bad the light is so harsh


My feeling is that it is nearly impossible to account for everything in the background all the time. Having distractions in an otherwise good or great shot is normal in 'real world' shooting. To me, that's what photoshop is for...the minor fixes.

The portrait light is harsh, but improves the depth of the shot. While I can immediately tell you are not using a diffuser (or at least not a big one), that's not always a bad thing. If you are just using the external flash in one position facing forward, you might want to explore bounce flash where possible or use a bounce card so you can get light from slightly different directions. A white index card and a rubber band on your flash head for the bounce card is a cheap and easy 'old school' way to do that.


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## yeatzee (Sep 29, 2009)

Yeah, I need a diffuser extremely badly. It was outside in the middle of a field so no bounce flash obviously was possible. I did use a bounce card though, but I was using my flash on too high of a setting so I could get some DOF.

Thanks for the help


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## wero626 (Oct 5, 2009)

Wow awsome pics i hope my ghosts turn out like yours!!! =]


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## yeatzee (Oct 9, 2009)

thanks


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## yeatzee (Nov 20, 2009)

my lone female:


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## revmdn (Nov 20, 2009)

Great pic.


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## Katnapper (Nov 20, 2009)

Beautiful pic of her!


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## yeatzee (Nov 20, 2009)

revmdn said:


> Great pic.





Katnapper said:


> Beautiful pic of her!


Thanks


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## yeatzee (Nov 22, 2009)

I tried to make the flash less harsh in this shot.... also without using a diffuser. What do you guys think?


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## yen_saw (Nov 23, 2009)

Nice pic!

The problem taking photo of ghost mantis is that being draker color the mantis 'absorb' all the light and without proper flash there will be shadow, but a bright flashlight without diffuser also create the 'hot spot' problem.


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## yeatzee (Nov 23, 2009)

Anything black in broad daylight is incredibly hard to expose correctly. You pretty much have to choose whether to expose the background/foreground or the subject. Obviously I chose the subject :lol:


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