Blue Flash L7 - Three Color Morphs

I only have 3 of these and each one is different so I don't know what is normal.

This one should be adult very soon. You can see swelling in the wing buds...

Blue Flash A











Blue Flash B

Blue Flash C

Lovely pics!

What did you bribe him with for that first pic?

hibiscusmile said:

What did you bribe him with for that first pic?

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I took that one at gun point.

FREEZE!!! :gun_bandana:

That first guy just molted to adult. He's expanding his wings right now...

Great series!! I love the symmetry on the last shot and the fact you got the blue flash to show.

Precarious said:

I took that one at gun point.

FREEZE!!! :gun_bandana:

That first guy just molted to adult. He's expanding his wings right now...

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DON'T TOUCH ME I'M MOLTING!!!

Cool threat display. :tt1:

Idolofreak said:

DON'T TOUCH ME I'M MOLTING!!!

Cool threat display. :tt1:

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No thread display. Just drying his new skin. Best time to see raptor details. The only time you'll see the antennae in that position too.

The thrid photo of mantis B looks like the movie poster for one of those horrible 1950's horror movies. Its no longer safe to go into your garden...Its THE ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT RADIO ACTIVE MANTIS!

Precarious said:

No thread display. Just drying his new skin. Best time to see raptor details. The only time you'll see the antennae in that position too.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I knew he was molting as soon as I saw his antennae and wings. Looks just like a normal mantis except for the bright blue raptor spots.

kmsgameboy said:

The thrid photo of mantis B looks like the movie poster for one of those horrible 1950's horror movies. Its no longer safe to go into your garden...Its THE ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT RADIO ACTIVE MANTIS!

Click to expand...

LOL I guess it does look tall in that pic.

Lovely mantises

At which instar do they get the blue markings? I have two L3-L4 nymphs that are already taking on small crickets! Although this species isn't my favorite, you have to love their ferocity!

Very nice

Are you using a Canon EOS series? Is it a full frame?

What settings do you use (certainly not auto!!), how about your shutter speed and apature

settings??

I have a Canon EOS also, but normally just use the "close up" setting and lots of light with

my macro lens.

If I werent so lazy, I would study the manual and get better shots!!

sinensispsyched said:

At which instar do they get the blue markings? I have two L3-L4 nymphs that are already taking on small crickets! Although this species isn't my favorite, you have to love their ferocity!

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I think the blue comes in around pre-sub, but I don't think the brown ones get it. Just the green ones.

I would agree. This is a nice species but too aggressive and skittish for my taste. I much prefer Sphodormantis viridis. A little larger and with a very pleasant personality, yet very aggressive toward prey. I currently have viridis nymphs and ooths if anyone is interested. I also have 2 Blue Flash nymphs available.

Psychobunny said:

Very nice

Are you using a Canon EOS series? Is it a full frame?

What settings do you use (certainly not auto!!), how about your shutter speed and apature

settings??

I have a Canon EOS also, but normally just use the "close up" setting and lots of light with

my macro lens.

If I werent so lazy, I would study the manual and get better shots!!

Click to expand...

I'm using a Canon T2i with EF100mm macro lens. It only goes as close as 1:1 so I use two additional high quality diopter filters; the Canon 250 D Closeup Lens and the Opteka 10x Macro (which you can get on Ebay for $20 shipped). In addition to those I sometimes use 65mm of extension tubes. I'm not sure where all of that puts the magnification but I'd guess close to 5:1. Most importantly I have the Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX flash which is a fantastic unit made specifically for macro. That's the real key - good lighting. The flash makes macro about as close as you can get to point-and-shoot. It allows me to shoot in Manual Mode at 1/500 (though these were probably 1/200), f22, ISO 100 with little to no preparation.

I also sometimes use focus stacking (combining multiples of the same shot with different portions in focus) to extend the depth of field, which I do manually in Photoshop. Being proficient in Photoshop is also a HUGE asset!

I'd love to upgrade to the D5 II and MP-E 65mm. Maybe if I make enough on Orchids. But there are rumors Canon will be releasing the upgraded D5 this year so probably best to hold off anyway.

Some would violently dissagree, but full frame is over rated. Any of the DSLR EOS series will take

equally fine pics as long as your not enlarging to poster size!!

The key is to know what your camera can do, and practice.

I havent heard of the D5 upgrade, but I know the camera is already $2,500 body only and is very

picky about lens quality (which is really where all the money goes!!)

That's A LOT of little orchid nymphs

Thanks for the tips

Psychobunny said:

Some would violently dissagree, but full frame is over rated. Any of the DSLR EOS series will take

equally fine pics as long as your not enlarging to poster size!!

The key is to know what your camera can do, and practice.

I havent heard of the D5 upgrade, but I know the camera is already $2,500 body only and is very

picky about lens quality (which is really where all the money goes!!)

That's A LOT of little orchid nymphs

Thanks for the tips

Click to expand...

Well, I've got a long list of buyers, 4 ooths so far and both girls are still very healthy and eating like a horse. Plus I've already got a nice chunk saved from previous sales.

I'll have to look into it further but from what I understand full frame allows for better light sensitivity (less noise) as well as just better capture resolution, which is all I'm looking for. I'm not doing much else besides macro so I'm not concerned with lens compatibility, but you can still use any EF lens. Just can't use EF-S lenses because they are specific to sensor size. But from the reviews I've read you will always get better images using even a cheap lens on a full frame, than the best lens on a smaller format sensor. The MP-E 65mm is the best macro lens out there and it's just under $1,000. Between that and the Macro EF 100mm, which I already own, I'd be set.

I'm looking at showing in galleries once I get my act together (macro and other forms) so I will need full frame resolution for best results. Plus I've seen enough comparison shots to convince me it would be a worthy investment. The difference in clarity and sharpness is very noticeable. If I were just shooting to post here or elsewhere online what I have is more than adequate. But I'd like to make this a career, at least to some extent. Some people go $50,000 in debt just to get an education so $3,000 to extend the quality of my work is a drop in the bucket. It's always a gamble but I've been more productive and enjoyed photography more than anything else I've been involved with. In all seriousness, the couple grand I spent earlier this year (remember, I've only been into photography for a year now) have changed my life in a big way. I have no fear of investing further.

amazing photos as always.

Yeah, and dont forget me too!!

I went ahead a bought a 100mm lens like you have to upgrade my 60mm and an extension tube that will

fit my EOS.

I will wait on the ring light since I already have a pair of 60W mini photo lamps which do the same thing, but much

more trouble.

Simga has a ring flash for Canon which is half the price of yours. Did you check their's out?