rachaelboardley
FollowPreying Mantis on Naviti Island, Western Fiji
Taken with Nikon D3200
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Behind The Lens
Location
Naviti Island in Fiji is an amazingly beautiful place, where I had the opportunity to stay for a week in May. This preying mantis was standing overlooking the Pacific Ocean when I managed to creep up behind it and get some shots. We were blessed with glorious weather - clear blue skies that mirrored the intense turquoise blue of the ocean; I feel that this played a massive impact on the outcome of the picture. The red of the creature's catwalk was a great contrast in the picture, which was great also as the paint was chipping away - highlighting the fine detail in the macro ability of the lens.Time
I remember walking out of the hut with with a coffee in the morning in my hand and immediately caught a glimpse of this fascinating creature sitting on the wooden decking. I had to run back, trying not to trip up on coconuts, to grab my camera in the fear that this wee guy had disappeared. Luckily, I discovered that they have a distinct walk, which is very slow and so I managed to get loads of snaps of this green guy! This photo was taken May 28 2014 at 9:41am.Lighting
Fiji screams paradise and so I wanted to portray the vibrancy of the island. I originally tried it without the basic flash, but it didn't do it justice. The use of the flash would also increase the detailing which is key in this picture. Natural lighting however played a significant role.Equipment
This was shot with a Nikon D3200 with a standard lens. No tripod, no flash, no other equipment. It's amazing that you can still get a good shot with the bare minimum. It just goes to show, as long as you've got your camera, there are no limits.Inspiration
The simple fact that I had never seen anything like this before was the inspiration behind this photo. I enjoy taking pictures of animals as there is little you can control about the way they hold themselves - it makes it more exciting and often more challenging. With a landscape or an object, it is so easy to make the picture as you want it, which in my experience is not always the best way.Editing
I used some minimal post-processing techniques involving reducing the exposure, increasing the shadows and highlights as well as increasing the vibrancy of the colours of the photo.In my camera bag
As a very amateur photographer, I have yet to acquire a good collection of equipment. I have my Nikon D3200, with about 5 SD cards always with plenty of space on them - I hate deleting photos and tend to just add to my memory card collection instead. I also only have one lens - a basicFeedback
The weather and location was key to this photo, and something that is down to luck unfortunately. However, should you be lucky enough to get this, these creatures do move slowly and so you actually have a fair amount of time to get a good shot. The speed of the creature also means that you don't really need to play about with shutter speed. Ensure good lighting, flash on and playing with the macro settings will mimic what I did to achieve this shot.