Mantis

wow! this is an amazing picture-it captures the elegance between to beings

THE PHOTOGRAPH CAPTURES A REAL TIME EVENT,WITH VIVID COLOURS ENHANCING THE IMPACT OF THE PICTURE.

Steve wrote: "I want to show nature as it really is, not as I think it should be."

 

I think this is a very respectable opinion, and one that would deserve a discussion of its own. Knowing other pictures by Ettan Ettan which he declared staged, I must say I suspected this one was as well - but only because of the background, since I know nothing at all about wildlife's secrets. I find the above comments very interesting: I see there that it would in fact be impossible (?) to capture a mantis eating a dragon fly in this position, and I see that a mantis would probably not be able to capture a dragon fly either (?). Are these 2 comments accurate? And if so, I would like to know whether the photographer knew it...? If he knew it, I would be very interested if he could share with us the "philosophy" behind the setting-up of such a photo. In short, Ettan, why would you stage a photo that COULD NOT exist in reality ? Why not, if you want to stage images of nature, stage a REALISTIC natural scene...?

We are a pretty funny bunch of folks here. Most of us own Photoshop and spend a lot of time "fixing" our photos to make them look the way we want (or the way we expected). Ettan didn't manipulate the photo, he manipulated the scene. Is that such a big deal? He captured something that most of us have admitted is beautiful and awesome. Just because a bait was set doesn't really take away from the techical aspects and pure beauty of the shot. What makes this any different than using a flash? Does a perfect shot only come from what can be changed on a camera? I think it's necessary sometimes to manipulate the scene in order to capture the image we can only dream of.

Jeremy Preece: "I think it's necessary sometimes to manipulate the scene in order to capture the image we can only dream of."

 

Manipulate background, manipulate lighting, manipulate position, manipulate in Photoshop, yes... but to manipulate something that goes against the very nature of things is not really ethical in my opinion. I'm not an animal activist, let alone an insect activist, but I doubt a dragonfly is a natural prey of a mantis and to "force feed" it one and take a picture of it is perhaps akin to a restaurant selling foie gras. Yes, the end-result (for both this picture and for the foie gras dish) is pleasing and beautiful, but the process to get there is perhaps not acceptable to quite a few people.

 

If the photographer had used Photoshop to bring two composite images of a dragonfly and the mantis together and had clearly stated so, I would have no problem with that image. Clearly no insects will be harmed in the making of the picture when you use Photoshop. But in this case, a dragonfly was harmed, and what was even less acceptable was that it was fed to the mantis, whose natural food pyramid probably does not include dragonflies (I'll retract this statement if a naturalist says otherwise). It does not depict a scene in actual reality and people who do not know about dragonflies or mantisses will go away after looking at this picture, believing that mantisses eat dragonflies when this is not true. Pictures are very powerful, but I would think this kind of photography is "abuse" to make your photographic fantasies met.

 

It is a great capture no doubt, but unfortunately it suffers the same fate as the LA Times photo of the solider guarding Iraqi civilians.

Regarding mantis eating habits see:

 

The mantis has a tremendous appetite that is not limited to just insects. They typically eat cockroach-type insects, and prefer soft-bodied insects like flies. They have been documented eating 21 species of insects, soft shelled turtles, mice, frogs, birds, and newts (Prete 305). One study from the excrement of an Algierian mantid showed intake of 93.2% Hymenopterous insects, and 5% arachnids (Benrakaa 253). They are carnivorous, and only eat live prey, but have been documented in labs eating dead prey that has been manually manipulated. They are cannibalistic in nymph and adult stages. They are diurnal; meaning they eat during the day, but they have been spotted eating at night around artificial light sources (Sargent 8).

 

taken from:

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/courses/en507/papers_1999/feldman.htm

 

So I suppose it's possible that mantises eat dragon flies. Nevertheless, I am in agreement with those who have criticised this photograph on the grounds that it is not a true representation of nature.

 

Allan Passmore

I don't like this photo because the colors don't gel together well, and this is more about

color than nature or anything else. I mean, seriously, they just don't match well(I think its

the background?). In nature, everything looks good with everything-whether it be dirt or

bugs or light. It just all works. The color just doesn't jive in this photo. Its the equivilent

of an uncool dude who's just trying too hard to be cool. Even though he's got some cool

gear and some hip attitude, he's lacking the soul and therefore is coming up short.

Amazing shot even if the set up was manipulated, but a lot of pictures in magazines are also manipulated, specially in macro photography. So I don't find this kind of actions to be unusual nor unreal. I guess that using a strobe in the middle of the jungle makes a big difference, also cutting some of the vegetation to have a "nicer and neater" shot, etc.

 

Hanging the flower-insects down is a very cleaver idea and I applaud it.

This is a powerful image. Sure, it's slightly less impressive because the dragonfly was fed to the mantis but still the bringing together of all these elements takes talent. Etan volunteered the information in response to the inquiries. It's not like we had to beat it out of him with a rubber hose!?!

 

If I can learn a few tricks about lighting for my photography then I consider it a precious gift. This thread has been an education in more ways than one.

 

Scatamousche

A preying mantis will eat just about any other insect that comes its way, so the only piece of this that strikes me as unlikely to appear in nature is the position of the insect while eating, which Ettan created by tipping the flower upside down. Overall, it strikes me that this is much less manipulated than the average studio shot. I love the colors and the position; a worthy POW!

Appears to be a battle to the death.

 

I'm sure the ending is excellent but please don't tell us now. I want to enjoy the moment you've frozen for us. I think this is a well taken photo considering the amount of action taking place and the urgency felt in taking this photo before the moment was past.

 

Well done to you, I say!

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?s=fd57b02cf6490bb869fa851c16ff3640&threadid=1236772&perpage=40&pagenumber=3

 

check out that link, someone stole your photo, halfway down the page

someone stole ur piece. By the way sweet babes. WWJD?!? LOL :-) I like you a lot.

Excellent macro shot of Mantis. Great details and composition. Thanks, Vandana

Great Capture!!

 

greetings

Beautifully captured.