[Keith Alan]

It jumped when I was watering the plants and got it wet, landing on an aloe vera.
Don't ask me why some are brownish like this instead of green. Who knows why insect change colors?

Katydids are excellent subjects because they will remain firmly in one location despite cameras and flashes shoved in their faces for minutes or even hours.
This time, I used a higher iso to allow for my smallest aperture and a more appropriate DOF.
And I put a homemade grid on my hand-held flash to tighten the beam into a nice small pattern, helping to isolate my subject from the surrounding plant.
Since my camera uses an electronic shutter a flash-synch of 1/800 was possible without any owner's manual and menu explorations, further darkening the background.

[matthew]

What you're able to do with the flash off-camera really is amazing. And on a personal note, I find it even more amazing because I know exactly what you're using, and know that it's a generation older than the camera that I retired two years ago.

[Wedding Shooter]

Really nice technique Keith - well done.

[Rabid Penguin]

Very good

[Kombisaurus]

I really love the lighting you have here Keith - it's dramatic without being harsh or ending up with hotspots. The shadows on the leaf look particularly good IMHO, they are deep yet there is still detail in them and they aren't too hard.

Oh, and the rest of the photo is great too!

[Keith Alan]

Thanks.
The shadows are like that because a flash head that close to an insect is almost the same as using an umbrella to light a person--it fills and wraps a bit, so the shadows are softer.

This one came into the house today, so I shot it where it landed on our vertical blinds.





Now it's the banner on my photoblog, and I just noticed that because the flash was directly overhead it looks like the white type is lighting it.

[Irma]

Beautiful pictures Keith...
The color of the last one is great!!

Very inspiring work... Unfortunately at this time of the year, we don't have many insects to take pictures to, but I will try it next summer...

[Toad]

These are really exceptional studies,Keith - and superb technique.

[matthew]

The second is really cool -- the black space beneath it makes for a dramatic and graphic shot. I've been surfing around this interweb thing for a while, and can't say that I've ever seen one like it.

[Keith Alan]

Hehe, the Strobist fav'd the new green one at Flickr.
Views are gonna be high.
I think I'll call it Magic Carpet Ride.

It's funny, but I had no intention of shooting any more katydids.
Been there, done that.
But this last one was in the house, and I recognized some new possibilities so out came the gear.

And I had other shots in mind--I only did the horizontal one for my website banner but it turned out so well I decided to show it around, and now it's taking off.
You just never know what people are going to like--I thought the pose was too stiff and clinical--but I can't argue with the light and detail being nice.

[Don Schaeffer]

The concentration of the beam really makes a powerful photo.