Shadow Hunter/ SMASh Contest Round #391 | Gras Mantis's Shadow

Last night, a "grass mantis" appeared in my room. I did not disturb, nor did I chase him away. Interestingly, he quietly took residence overnight, and as the dawn broke, with golden Sun rays peeking through my window, the delicate artistry of his body started to produce beautiful and profound shadows upon the floor. And I did not waste time capturing it.

This time, I did not plan to capture a shadow or prepare a setup for it; it was offered to me by Nature.

The low-hanging morning Sun did the magic for these shadows, demonstrating a mesmerizing interplay of light and form.

The grass mantis always feels docile to me. I could recollect my childhood when I used to play with many such mantises of different species.

Maybe because of the heavy downpour last night, he was searching for a residence; glad that I solicited his presence in my room.

This shadow is really interesting, the long, slender body of this mantis, an elongated specter with exaggerated limbs, sounds like a mythical body if you closely observe.

The shadow produced the outline of the intricate artistry of the body of this mantis.

The best part was that the mantis stayed undisturbed when I approached close to capture those shots. The ethereal shadow of this matis is truly magical; a chance observation has transformed the mundane into something beautiful and artistic to the best of the shadow menu.

As I am writing this post now at 10:15 AM, he(mantis) has already left. I pay my gratitude to this wonderful creature for its brief visit to my room. Nature is truly amazing.

Thank you.
🙏🙏🙏

This is my entry to Shadow Hunter SMASh Contest Round 391 by @melinda010100

Thank you.

Original Photography using my Smartphone