A Praying Mantis

Praying mantises are so alien in appearance.   I love how vividly emerald this little insect is and how a crown of gold appears to be protruding from its head.  This foreign nature is a stark contrast to the obvious humanity that is present in the familiar crevices in the palm of the hand.  Even more interesting is that while they mate, the female mantis eats the head off of the male.  This is necessary to induce ejaculation- something that definitely would not (hopefully) happen among humans.  Please pardon the graphic bio-geek-out moment.

I love this image because of the many different instances of serendipity associated with it.  I wouldn't consider myself the type of person who is shadowed by luck, but on this day I was fortunate enough to spot this little guy, have my camera handy, and capture a decent enough shot of it.  

Insects are one of my favorite subjects to photograph because they require such delicacy while handling and intimacy while shooting.  Getting decent images of them demands that I alter my own perspective on the world, to become smaller in my own stature.  At this level, details that would otherwise go unnoticed are revealed and a whole new understanding of what I am looking at can be reached.