Praying mantises blend in so well with their surroundings that it is extremely rare for me to see one. This past weekend I spotted one as I was scanning the undergrowth while I was walking along the boardwalk in my local marsh.
The challenge for me was to figure out how to get a good shot of the praying mantis, which was sitting among some green leaves just about level with the boardwalk itself. I first tried shooting from directly above the insect, but I didn’t like the results very much, because I could not seem to make the praying mantis stand out from the background.
The second basic approach that I tried was to shoot at eye level with the insect. This produced some good results, like the second photo below, because I was able to capture a lot of details of the mantis and the shadows add interest to the shot.
I got my favorite image, the first one, when I shot from below the level of the insect, by hanging over the edge of the boardwalk. Framing the shot was a bit tricky because I had to place myself in the middle of the vegetation without disturbing the praying mantis (you should never disturb an insect when it is praying). I also had to shoot from an awkward angle in which it was difficult to steady the camera, so many of my shots were blurry.
Why is the first image my favorite? I like the simplicity of the color palette in the image−mostly green and black—and the pose of the praying mantis staring into the shadows from the edge of the leaf, which has wonderful details. (If you click on the image you can see a higher resolution view, which includes some details of insect’s head.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
I was just thinking about these the other day, wondering why I hadn’t seen one in years. I like both shots, but if I had to choose I think I’d pick the bottom one.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. This is the only one that I have seen this year and I think I saw only two praying mantises last year. The bottom shot is a better portrait, but I think I like the drama of the first shot a little better.
Very cool…:-)
Thanks, Ed. Praying mantis are so long and skinny that I was happy to get some decent shots.
Super!
*you should never disturb an insect when it is praying* Ha! 🙂
Sorry, I couldn’t resist (and thanks for reading far enough to catch my attempt at humor).
LOL 😀 Great photos, Mike, in #1 the contrast to the dark background is very nice:)
Great shots but I think we may have missed the best one – a photo of you taking the photo!
Thanks, Lyle. I would like to say that I present a dignified appearance when I am taking photos, but more often than not I am leaning, twisting, and crawling. So far I have fallen off the boardwalk only once, about a three foot drop into bushes, with nothing harmed but my ego.
Happy birthday Mike!
Thanks. Birthdays are no longer a big deal for me, but it’s nice that you noticed.
The second image has the advantage that almost all of the mantis’s body is in focus.
I sympathize with you about the contortions you had to go through to get these pictures. Oh, the life of a nature photographer.
I agree…the first image is the one! Always nice to have a nice clean background and the black background in this photo highlights the mantis beautifully. Great job!
I remember as a kid finding the pouch that the praying mantis leaves when it lays it’s eggs. Took it inside put it in a drawer and forgot about it. Later we had hundreds of baby praying mantis all over the house. My prayers where of a different nature then as you can imagine. Anyway I debated one over the other and finally chose the second. But both are great shots. Thanks as always.
I can only imagine the “joy” of having hundreds of praying mantises in the house. Thanks for sharing your views of the two shots. The preferences seem pretty well split–I like that.
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