Notes from the field :

Waterloo Recreation Area, MI; This image was made along a trail heading back to our car on a wet day this past fall. We had been up long before sunrise to get to this area, and had a decent morning of shooting, though not the best. The light was becoming very contrasty and hot spots filled the woods everywhere. it was time to call it a day or at least break for lunch. Along the trail on the way back, this little guy was noticed hopping around in the leaf litter, although very well camouflaged. Another example of the slower you go, the more you see. To get a "frog's eye" perspective, I also had to be down in the leaf litter... very muddy leaf litter.

The sun was already shining, and this very active frog was busy going about his daily activities. Needless to say, he didn't stay still for long, or jump into anything but a mess of leaves. After capturing several images of a Leaf camouflaged frog, I began to put my camera away, already mud-covered and tired from a long morning. The instant my camera was away, the frog leaped onto this dead branch as if to say " is this the shot you wanted muddy-boy?" I had just enough time to grab the camera and fire 3 shots before he hopped away.

The interesting thing is he jumped on a branch in direct sun, normally a nightmare lighting situation. However, in this case, with the lack of heavy shadows, it seemed to work quite nicely. The bright background seems to communicate the fall day and compliment the colors of the frog.

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About the subject :

Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata triseriata), found in a variety of habitats from farm fields to damp woodlands. This one in particular seemed to enjoy the wet, muddy leaves. They can be somewhat hard to tell apart from a wood frog, which looks very similar. Since this guy didn't seem to have the ridges along his back that wood frogs do, we are pretty sure "he" is a western chorus. Their call sounds like if you run your thumbnail along the teeth of a pocket comb.

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Technical details :

This image was made using a Nikon F5 and a 105 mm f2.8 Nikkor micro lens, Fuji Velvia film. The 105 mm is one heck of a sharp lens, showing the finest of details on this frog's underside.

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About the composition :

1] Diagonals always add nice dynamic elements, and this stick creates a leading line to the subject.

2] The inclusion of the leaf is likely subjective, not all might like it here. I think it adds a bit to fill out the frame.

3] Subject off-center. Not necessarily a rule for every image, but seems to work in this case.

4] Clean, complimentary color background - reflecting the fall hues when this shot was made.

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