RejectReality

This little guy was quite a find. He was hanging around in a tree in my backyard, doing whatever it is that insects do when they don’t have a macro lens pointed in their general direction.

It was only after I started looking through the images that I realised something – he was not only watching me (or more precisely, the huge, shiny glass thing right in front of him), but seemed to posing. Go figure

Your challenge: I’ve posted the whole mantis set to Flickr – come up with the description for the pose or expression. The best one on each ends up in the title.

Make sure you view the large version to get your inspiration

As promised, the second part of the photo catchup session.

I’ve been meaning to post these photos for a while.

These photos were taken on a recent spur-of-the-moment midnight trip to a local lookout.

This was my first foray into Strobist territory; the basic premise involves cheap, off camera lighting to create dramatic effects. Anything DIY earns extra brownie points.

In this case, I used a Vivitar 285HV flash, a remake of the “classic workhorse” used over the last 20 years, placed on the ground firing upwards at 1/16th power using a remote trigger.

Considering I’ve haven’t progressed very far through the whole Strobist “training” course (read: haven’t done much more than read the concept ), I was very happy with how the shot came out.

It also helps that I had a patient model, especially when the battery in my transmitter started crapping out

This was taken in near pitch black as an experiment in curves, not only in the subject, but in the shadows still present in the darkness.

The classic city lights at night photo.

Everyone should have one of these in their collection.

Aside from hunting for shadows in the dark (where else would you find them? ), I was also on the hunt for interesting textures.

For some reason, I dig the stippled effect on the pavers from this angle.

Next up will be another catchup post.