05/22/11

Frog Paparazzi – Photographing Amphibians this Summer

This summer we’d like to encourage you to get out and photograph amphibians while on vacation or near home, even in your own backyard! The beauty of photographing frogs and other amphibians is that you don’t have to go on a safari or travel to someplace exotic to photograph them.

Here are a few tips from the book Frogs: A Chorus of Colors by John and Deborah Behler, which has a chapter on photographing these well-camouflaged creatures:

• Try to learn about the animal first. What is its habitat? When are they active?
• Walk slowly and stop frequently [it helps to have someone with you who is less than 3 feet tall and has sharp eyes]. Frogs and toads blend in so well that they are hard to find. Be alert for subtle movements.
• In summer, you might find the sit-and-wait frog predators hanging out on the edges of ponds and lakes.
• Be aware of the position of the sun. Avoid taking pictures at midday on bright sunny days. In the morning, face east and it will keep sunlight from coming into your lens and washing out your photos.
• Don’t necessarily put the subject in the middle of the photo. Keep the whole animal in the photo, but compose the picture so the background tells a story.
• Bracket your photos, i.e., take the same shot with different settings. Also, try taking a flash photo. Without a flash, animals in photos may look lifeless and poorly lighted.
• Try to be on the same level as your subject.
• State parks, bird sanctuaries, and wildlife refuges are good places to find amphibians.

You don’t need a fancy camera to get interesting shots. I took this photo of a  spring peeper in low light with a Kodak EasyShare camera on the Flower Setting (might be called “close up” on your camera). When we were traveling in Virginia, my husband stopped the car so that we could listen to the peepers. Although peepers are often heard with their distinct high-pitched “peeps,” they are seldom seen. My son spotted the peeper below, but it took my husband and I about five minutes before we were able to see the inch-long and extremely well-camouflaged frog. Once we spotted it, the frog sat stock still for a few minutes to allow all three of us to behave like amphibian paparazzi (we took a dozen pictures before the frog had had enough and hopped off).

I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy photographing frogs: they have a survival behavior that causes them to freeze when they sense danger, in order to avoid detection from predators (unlike mammals like rabbits, deer etc, which will hop or run off long before you’ve even focused) so that it’s possible to get some great pictures of them.

spring peeper, photo by Mary Jo Rhodes

For inspiration, we recommend taking a look at the book Frog: A Photographic Portrait, a gorgeous collection of photographs by wildlife photographer Thomas Marent, who traveled to rainforests all over the world to photograph unusual amphibians. As he says, “The variety of colors, shapes, and sounds of frogs is truly spectacular, and a wildlife photographer’s dream….!”

Don’t forget to submit your best amphibian photograph to our 3rd Annual Photo Contest!

FROG: A PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT by Thomas Marent

04/22/11

Earth Day 2011 – The Earth is Calling

April 22, 2011 marks the 41st celebration of Earth Day!

© Frogs Are Green | Photograph by Richard D. Bartlett

We’d also like to point you toward our contest page. We just started receiving entries for our 2011 Kids’ art contest and the 2011 photo contest. So check out the rules and be sure to enter as many times as you’d like throughout the Summer.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Susan and Mary Jo

12/15/10

Announcing the Winners of the 2010 Frogs Are Green Photo Contest

First off, we would like to thank all the photographers who entered the 2010 FROGS ARE GREEN photo contest. We were thrilled to receive your entries, and it was difficult to pick a winner. We hope you will continue your adventures as amphibian photographers and enter next year’s photo contest!

This year we accepted photos in two categories: frogs in the wild and backyard frogs.

FROGS IN THE WILD
WINNER: Adam Paine

Mourning Frogs in South Carolina by Adam Paine

Photo of Mourning Frogs in South Carolina by Adam Paine

We chose this photo because it is unusual and compelling.

Adam writes of the photo, “These frogs were found along the Pocotaligo River in South Carolina. It seems as if the mother frog had recently passed away from unknown causes. I had never seen this deep of an emotion showed in the Reptilian Kingdom before.”

HONORABLE MENTION: Christine Murphy

Camouflaged Toad in Josephine County, Oregon.

Photo of Camouflaged Toad in Josephine County, Oregon by Christine Murphy

We liked this well-composed photo of a handsome toad camouflaged on tree bark.

BACKYARD FROGS

WINNER: Christine Murphy

Winner of the Frogs Are Green 2010 Backyard Frogs Photo Contest

Photo by Christine Murphy in Josephine County, Oregon.

We chose this photo of a frog on a fence because of its strong composition.

HONORABLE MENTION: Theresa Walters

Singing Toad photo by Theresa Walters, Tionesta, PA. USA

Singing Toad photo by Theresa Walters, Tionesta, PA. USA - Honorable Mention

We liked this photo of a male toad serenading a female toad in a backyard pond.

Theresa writes, “I found this singing toad in my backyard pond, in Tionesta, PA, standing on an artificial water lily. He was so involved in “singing” for a female, he didn’t even know I was there!”

PRIZES:
The winners will receive a Frogs Are Green t-shirt or poster of his/her choice or we can design a special t-shirt and/or poster with your winning photo. Honorable mention photographers will receive our small Red-Eyed Tree Frog poster.