One way to photograph insects is to do it early in the day when they are immobilized by low body temperatures.
I shot this picture early on a late summer morning. The sun had not risen and it was cool enough that the grasshopper was not warm enough to be able to spring away. He was able to walk slowly over the surface of the teazel, so I took advantage of that to gently steer him into position for this shot.
Shortly after I took this shot the sun came over the horizon. A few moments after the sun hit the the grasshopper - boing - and he was gone.
The teazel is a non-native plant introduced from Europe, probably for early use in the textile industry, where it was used in tools to raise the nap on fabrics.
Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
A Grasshopper Poses on a Dried Teasel Flowerhead Just Before Sunrise in Oregon.
