21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Portrait of a Mantis

This is an incredibly detailed image of a living Chinese mantis that was photographed as it walked through the grass of my local park during an early morning macro outing this summer. I was able to use the ground for stabilization during the focus stack and the mantis stayed perfectly still for the entirety of the process. The end result is a seemingly unprecedented view of the complex eye structure of a living mantis.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States of America
Camera: OM-1
Copyright: © Benjamin Salb