Had a guest drop in . . .

[AndyS]

If you have the good fortune to see one of these take it home with you. The are incredibly docile and once coaxed onto your hand are hard to get off it! They can be posed, sit still for minutes at a time and just generally seem to enjoy the attention. This little guy is about 2 inches long.

[niyad]

1. Amazing and absolutely beautiful. Thank you!

[AndyS]

10. Thank you, Niyad. Always good to hear from you. nt

[Diamond_Dog]

2. Beautiful, AndyS

[AndyS]

9. Thank you, DD! nt

[MichaelSoE]

3. Oh yes and they are such good posers

[AndyS]

8. I'm told they make good pets! nt

[MichaelSoE]

15. If you enjoy having a pet that does nothing but eat the crickets you buy at the pet shop

I kept one for a few months. Kinda neat but definitely not as much fun as a cat

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. That is lovely! The insect and the flower seem made for each other. Thanks, Andy. ♥

[AndyS]

7. I posed him on three different settings;

the chive bloom you see here, a marigold and a thistle. He looked great on all of them!

[HAB911]

5. Outstanding!

I don't believe I have ever seen one in FL, but would love to!

[AndyS]

6. Google just told me that there are 11 species

native to FL. I've ordered them in the Spring for my garden, they make great natural pest control. You get an egg case that will provide several thousand little critters. They are so gentle some people make pets of them. They'll eat just about anything; raw hamburger, any insects they can find and such. I swatted a fly while doing the shoot and he enjoyed the heck out of that.

[HAB911]

16. I will definitely look into ordering some, that will be fun!

[Grumpy Old Guy]

11. Great shot!

[AndyS]

13. Thanks! nt

[George McGovern]

12. Nice Guest Andy! I really like your lighting, in all your shots, against the "blackground."

[AndyS]

14. I have a DIY 'studio' that's roughly a 28 inch cube with

a 14x18" light box. I'm using an LED video light inside the box and it's barely enough light to hand hold a macro shot.

I've ordered a larger 39" cube with twice the light output plus I can use the current light as well so I hope to have an easier time with shooting live subjects. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0855FP9HH

Having total control of light; intensity, quality and direction, is fun. Sometimes I have to wait until dark so the ambient light doesn't interfere but most of what I shoot is not that sensitive to extraneous reflections.

The background is black velvet which, if you listen real close, makes a sucking sound when light hits it.