# Some photos again, unusual Gongy:)



## drizzt (Jan 23, 2010)

_Gongylus gongylodes_ green, adult female













_Idolomantis diabolica_, subimago female


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## Rick (Jan 23, 2010)

Great pics, love the green gongy.


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## [email protected] (Jan 23, 2010)

Cool, did you do anything special to get her to turn that green color?


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## drizzt (Jan 23, 2010)

Chase said:


> Cool, did you do anything special to get her to turn that green color?


osmotic water spray 3x per day


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## yeatzee (Jan 23, 2010)

mind explaining your "studio" setup?


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## revmdn (Jan 23, 2010)

Nice.


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## charleyandbecky (Jan 23, 2010)

I too love the green gongy. She's lovely!


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## Katnapper (Jan 23, 2010)

Green!!!  Wow... very beautiful on this species.  Congrats and thanks for letting us see. She's gorgeous!


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 23, 2010)

drizzt said:


> osmotic water spray 3x per day


  

It looks as though you pose yr mantids on a glass surface, this time a sweet (candy) jar lid. Like Yeatze, though I'd like to know more about yr photo set up. Your main light is diffused, right?


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## hibiscusmile (Jan 23, 2010)

No Way u got a greenie! I mad h34r:


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## kamakiri (Jan 26, 2010)

Nice Greenie! I have a few that L4-L5 that are not yet quite as green, but it does seem to be the ones that I spray more. Thanks for sharing.  



PhilinYuma said:


> It looks as though you pose yr mantids on a glass surface, this time a sweet (candy) jar lid. Like Yeatze, though I'd like to know more about yr photo set up. Your main light is diffused, right?


The studio is something like a wine glass base and I think the main light is *below and behind* the mantis and parhaps also serving as the 'wall washer' for the background if a separate strobe is not used for that. There's also a frontal fill and looks like two diffuse sources from the sides.

So I'm guessing four or 5 sources.

Here are some examples I shot waaaay back in 2005 regarding use of slave lighting:

Wall wash sample:






Rim light from below (with diffuse/bounce front fill):






Backlight only:


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## 3.1415926 (Jan 26, 2010)

I noticed that chinese mantis nymphs when kept in the dry indoors, will become brown. The wetter a mantis is the greener.


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 26, 2010)

Useful discussion, Grant. I don't think that he used a rim light, though, because of the absence of a "halo".

What kind of mantis did you use for yr example pix? Looks like a bit of a mismolt to me!


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## kamakiri (Jan 26, 2010)

PhilinYuma said:


> Useful discussion, Grant. I don't think that he used a rim light, though, because of the absence of a "halo".What kind of mantis did you use for yr example pix? Looks like a bit of a mismolt to me!


 :lol: He won't appreciate that comment!

Look closer at the source of the shadows (esp. the raptorial spines) and see how evenly and well lit the underside is. You won't see the 'halo' because there is nothing like hair visible (at this magnification of the picture).


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## kamakiri (Jan 26, 2010)

Well, I might have to eat my words a bit....

Looking a little closer, it seems some of the background gradient might have been done in post! So I think I might be wrong about the background/wall wash/rim light.

Could just be two sources on the lower sides and a faint pop from the on-board flash for the command signal.


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## PhilinYuma (Jan 26, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> :lol: He won't appreciate that comment! Look closer at the source of the shadows (esp. the raptorial spines) and see how evenly and well lit the underside is. You won't see the 'halo' because there is nothing like hair visible (at this magnification of the picture).


That makes sense. Good. I always reckon that rim lighting helps to make a figure stand out from the background as happens here, but thought that I was mistaken in this case.

I have wondered the same thing about the famous (to killifish fanciers!) killifish pix by the late Col. Jorgen Scheel. I had wondered about some kind of rim lighting too, though God knows how he would have set it up. Let me see if I can find a URL. This one doesn't bear his name, but it's his. What do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=300388790605

(The fish, BTW, is the gorgeous Notobranchius eggersi, blue morph).


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## Schloaty (Jan 29, 2010)

Makes sense that misting would bring out green.

Humidity may translate into lusher folliage, so green is better camo, while drier conditions trigger brown to camo with the dead folliage.


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## yen_saw (Jan 29, 2010)

kamakiri said:


> Rim light from below (with diffuse/bounce front fill):


Nice halo effect Grant  I learn something today! Thanks


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## drizzt (Jan 29, 2010)

yen_saw said:


> Nice halo effect Grant  I learn something today! Thanks


And theres most communal species i ever seen, they even eat flies/crickets togehter without any signs of agression


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## revmdn (Jan 29, 2010)

Cool.


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## yen_saw (Jan 30, 2010)

drizzt said:


> And theres most communal species i ever seen, they even eat flies/crickets togehter without any signs of agression


Chat chat chat.....Looks like they are having a serious discussion together :lol: Nice deco with the dead leaves!


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