THE BIG PICTURE

BY SHANNON HIBBERD

ANIMAL: PRAYING MANTIS LOCATION: SREDNA GORA MOUNTAINS, BULGARIA When this photographer sees an insect, he doesn’t freak out—he takes a photo of it! Georgi Georgiev explains how he got this cartoon-like shot of a very real praying mantis. “I found this praying mantis by accident. It was fall, and I was in the forest looking for mushrooms to photograph. The mantis was near some mushrooms. It was a challenge not to scare it away. “I was sneaking very slowly, crawling on the ground until I got close enough. I imagined how I wanted the picture to look, then I waited until the fairy-tale scene was just right. I used a special macro lens, which makes small insects look much bigger and brings out details like the mantis’s antennae and leg spikes. “Diving into the universe…

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National Geographic Kids (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2024/January 2025

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