The best things happen in your periphery. It’s the reason I had the astigmatism correction removed from my glasses. The contrast between my sharp, corrected vision — and the blur in my periphery made me chronically queasy.
That’s a lousy lede — and I’m too tired to come up with a better one. But workable peripheral vision is relevant to these photos.
I went to the pool to look for California Newts who migrate to UC Berkeley Botanical Garden for one big newt bash every spring. I was kicking myself for not bringing a polarizing filter . . . and then remembered that even if I’d brought the polarizer, it would have been for the wrong lens. So, just like I am when I’m wearing my glasses, I was squinting through the viewfinder, finding ways to cut through the surface glare of the Japanese Pool.
That’s when, in my periphery, I saw the anomalous shape. If you spend enough time actively looking for animals in their natural camo, a new shape, shadow, or shake in the greenery easily grabs the attention.
In this case, it was a frog. And not just a frog, but a frog perfectly placed in a teardrop of water — within another teardrop of a lily leaf. I loved the way the frog’s habitat framed her protectively and aesthetically.
I’m fairly certain this is a Pacific Chorus Frog, but amphibians are not my strong suit. I’m much better with birds. Even then, I once shot an image of a Long-billed Curlew that ended up on Wikipedia an instant after I uploaded it. It was misidentified in a global database as a Whimbrel, before I could correct the ID. Stupid wiki tricks. So, I’ll just say that based on my current knowledge, I believe this is a Pacific Chorus Frog — particularly since it has the eye-to-jaw black striping. If you know otherwise, please clue me in.
These three photos show the frog in context, giving a better perspective on its size in relation to the lily pads and pond.
Frog in a Teardrop - ©ingridtaylar
Frog Spa - ©ingridtaylar
Find the Frog - ©ingridtaylar
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow – a frog in a teardrop. Love the photo.
Thank you very much, Dan. And thanks for coming by. The frog in the teardrop is one of those made-for-the-frame opportunities.
Gorgeous images. Your work is always a treat to see, Ingrid.
Thank you, Tovar. Well, the easy thing about photographing wildlife is that they are inherently beautiful subjects, in all of their colors, textures and behaviors. I’m just a conduit.