Creo Mantis Vanishes

[giesle]

Now that I have finally figured out how to get my cham to eat on the set without waiting all day I need to come up with some original ideas for some shots. I'm not sure, but I think he doesn't even eat during the week and waits for the weekend during the photo shoot to eat up the mantises....there's always about a dozen roaches and a few crickets in his enclosure. There's even been two Superworms crawling around the screen for the past 3-4 days and that was always his favorite food in the past. He ate 4 mantises in about 5 minutes today because I was late pushing the button on the first 3 pics. This is the second and probably last shoot where I use a painted sky on paper for the backdrop.

 

[laurie]

That is an excellent shot, and the background looked real, until I read all your post.

 

[stephencartolano]

Awesome shot, I was just about to say, maybe try a new background but you're already on it! Its just a lil weird having a defined light source juxtaposed to a sky. Awesome cham and shot tho, you must have lightning fingers hahaha

 

[ambanjamom]

Your shots are always so wonderful to look at,I look forward to seeing your cham and your lab too
Keep them coming

 

[giesle]

Awesome shot, I was just about to say, maybe try a new background but you're already on it! Its just a lil weird having a defined light source juxtaposed to a sky. Awesome cham and shot tho, you must have lightning fingers hahaha

I agree, it is a little weird, but I was also thinking it is possible to have the sun setting or rising creating the light and still have such a blue sky, but probably not so low in the picture. I'll probably just go back to the yellow wall next.

Your shots are always so wonderful to look at,I look forward to seeing your cham and your lab too
Keep them coming

Thanks. I really want to get a shot of a mantis on my Lab's nose and my cham snatching it off, but I have finally decided that is going to be impossible, although I haven't actually tried it yet.

 

[Jupiter]

That would be epic... Heck, THIS is epic. Definitely a technical shot right there, I would imagine there was some struggle between the f stop and the shutter speed on this

 

[giesle]

That would be epic... Heck, THIS is epic. Definitely a technical shot right there, I would imagine there was some struggle between the f stop and the shutter speed on this

Thanks. Not too bad of a struggle. I use the flashes to freeze the tongue, so I keep the shutter at around 1/200. I just make sure and not set a flash with more than 1/4 power, which translates to about 1/4000 of a second.

 

[ambanjamom]

I think as sweet & laid back as your lab is you could more than likely pull it off.As the saying goes..you won't know until you try

 

[giesle]

I think as sweet & laid back as your lab is you could more than likely pull it off.As the saying goes..you won't know until you try

I just tried getting a shot of a mantis on his nose and he didn't like it, but it was a spastic L4-5 Asian, so I don't blame him. But the real struggle will be my cham eating off of him. He won't even eat from my hand anymore. He was fine eating from my hand up until 2-3 months ago, but now he just won't. He has no problem crawling on me or me being near him. He just won't eat off me anymore....even mantises. Now that I figured out he wants small mantises, I'll try again to get him to eat one off me tomorrow. That will be my photo objective tomorrow....mantis on thumb hitching a ride, remote shutter release in other hand ready for the long tongue shot. Wish me luck.

 

[ChameleonMom]

Wow!! Sounds complicated....good luck indeed!!

 

[giesle]

Wow!! Sounds complicated....good luck indeed!!

Well, I got him to eat off my hand, but I was late on both of the shots I took. Oh well. I think the one I took a few minutes later that I just uploaded probably turned out better than a shot with my hand in it anyway.