Theme: Camouflage
Award: Highly Commended
Photographer: Jonah Linquist
I was inspired to take this photo because it\’s a praying mantis, and doesn\’t everybody want to see a praying mantis? I took this photo because I have always wanted to see a wild praying mantis, and this was my chance to prove that I had actually seen one. I was lucky to have had my camera. As for the science behind the photo, I am pretty sure that the mantis that I took a picture of was a Chinese Mantis. I didn\’t see it until it flew, afterward landing in a green flowering shrub. Then I was able to see it closely, and let it walk on my hand. It looked like a brown stick or leaf clinging onto a shrub, and I observed that its wings looked exactly like blades of grass. With that coloration, I imagine it probably hunts in grass or bushes. Seeing a wild praying mantis was one of the coolest experiences in my life.