Oxyothespis dumonti fresh nymphs! (North African Grass Mantis)

[ismart]

Fantastic pics! Have any molted to L2 yet?

 

[Precarious]

Fantastic pics! Have any molted to L2 yet?

Not yet. I'm looking forward to seeing them grow!

 

[dlemmings]

more great pics! thanks

 

[LLCoolJew]

Oh, Wow! These are simply SPECTACULAR, Precarious. You've really outdone yourself!!!!

 

[Precarious]

A few pics of the L2 using the new lens. Still learning my way around it.

 

[lunarstorm]

Awesome! Any plans to test image stacking with the new gear?

 

[agent A]

Very nice pics

I may send u a dead mantis so u can do your photography magic on it

 

[agent A]

Awesome! Any plans to test image stacking with the new gear?

Image stacking is hard! Whenever I try to get many pics of 1 thing from different focal points it moves and screws everything up

 

[Precarious]

Awesome! Any plans to test image stacking with the new gear?

I stack pretty regularly. Usually only 2 or 3 images manually in Photoshop.

Example: 3 images of a Heterochaeta sp. sub molt:

I've never done any deep stacks because I shoot freehand and you really need to use a tripod and focusing rail to do more than that. I was considering buying StackShot for a minute there but I've found tripods very limiting and clunky. I can take 10 great freehand shots in the time it would take to set up a single tripod shot. Plus freehand allows me to change the angle as needed, which is vital when working with insects that move a lot. Another thing that turned me off is that most of the deep stacks of 50 or more images are of dead insects. Really no other option when you need a still subject, unless you get up at 5 am when they're still asleep in the cold.

I've put the time into getting more of my subject in focus in a single shot by learning to adjust my angle, so I stack much less than I used to. It's a lot less work too.

Example: single image of a Heterochaeta sp. sub male:

I couldn't get at this nymphs head-on and that limited my success. You have to get really close with the MP-E 65 and that will take a little getting used to. These images came out too dark. Getting my flash set properly will take a little experimentation too. These are just the first few I took with the new lens so I've got some learning to do.

Very nice pics

I may send u a dead mantis so u can do your photography magic on it

Would totally depend on the species whether it would be worth the trouble. I have plenty of shots of living specimens so it would have to be something I could get alive.

 

[sporeworld]

I missed this tr=hread early, but WOW!~

Those ooths are amazing - kinda like individual pupa's loosely stuck together. Great work!

 

[Precarious]

Pics of adult female here:

http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=24067

 

[memyself_and_i]

wow they are amazing i really want this species