Praying Mantis

In college i created a wire mantis for my sculpture class. I have NEVER sucessfully been able to photograph it. If any photographers know HOW to photograph something made out of wire that is basically see-through i'd love to have some hints. I have two of them, and this one was a present for Paula and Bruce Papky (the in-laws) for their garden. They have a wonderful garden. So this little (or sorta, big, i guess) guy has been hanging in different spots around the garden.

It's about a foot long from uh.... um.... hand-claw to uh.... um.... foot-claw? do bugs have claws??? or feet? ha ha ha. anyway, it's larger than real life because it was meant to live in a tree up above the world but still be noticable to inquisitive eyes. It's made with galvanized metal wire and as you can see it's rusting. *shrug* i wish rust was green! Hmm! maybe i'll make one out of copper wire one day!!! *ha! brainwave!*

I have another one made out of a darker wire and it has been hanging from my ceiling for years - waiting for me to learn how to photograph it so i can show him off to the world. But alas, every time i try, it just looks like a weird 2-d tangle of wires.

-N