Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis – Davis CA – 20151024

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6.
ISO 400, 300mm, 0 ev, f/11, 1/125

My son Nico met a new friend before his soccer game.

The poor creature was stranded in the middle of a play structure crawling with kids.

Although they probably look very strange to each other, Nico and the Praying Mantis were brave and cordial during the encounter, the bug was ready to get away early, but we did some exploring before letting it go. My son explored nature and the bug very gently.

And I explored some amateur photography; since I had the camera ready for some soccer action, I took advantage and tried a few shots with my reliable Sony Alpha 33.

First I tried shooting with my Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 tele zoom lens. The photos came out OK.

Then I tried with my cool Tamron AF 90mm Di SP 1:28 macro lens, but I couldn’t figure out the best setting for the equipment, and the model was getting impatient and restless. So I didn’t get any impressive macros this time, maybe next time…

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6.
ISO 400, 120mm, 0 ev, f/11, 1/400

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6.
ISO 400, 300mm, 0 ev, f/11, 1/320

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6.
ISO 400, 300mm, 0 ev, f/11, 1/320

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Sony 75-300mm F4.5-5.6.
ISO 400, 300mm, 0 ev, f/11, 1/250

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Tamron AF 90mm Di SP 1:28 Macro 1:1 (272E).
ISO 400, 90mm, 0 ev, f/11, 1/30

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Tamron AF 90mm Di SP 1:28 Macro 1:1 (272E).
ISO 400, 90mm, 0 ev, f/2.8, 1/1600

Sony Alpha SLT-A33 + Tamron AF 90mm Di SP 1:28 Macro 1:1 (272E).
ISO 400, 90mm, 0 ev, f/2.8, 1/4000

At the end of our play date, our friend was surrendered back to nature, as soon as it touched the selected goodbye tree, it didn’t stop running away, until it reach a safe zone away from kids and paparazzi.