Chameleon

[Maureen Allen]

This is a friend's pet chameleon, running around on a crepe myrtle in the backyard. She was quite interested in a spider further down on the branch.

Nikon D3s, 105mm f/2.8, ISO 1600, f/9, 1/80, flash

[Norm Dulak]

An interesting critter in a good pose. Well composed and sharp. If it were mine I'd remove the purple orb below and to the right of the animal, which I find distracting.

[Jonathan Ashton]

This is a fascinating pose, at first I thought you had cropped the body or something like that!! I see the body has gone backwards on second take - he looks a bit like a puppet head to me:S3:
You have good sharpness and exposure but I would suggest a different pose to show a better view of the body. Maybe you could put some bait out for him/her so that he goes towards it and you never know you may get a shot with the tongue out.

[Bob Miller]

Hi Maureen....Nice pose....bg handled well....sharpness good....I would clone out or at least tone down the purple spot mentioned above. You might consider getting much closer to that eye!

[Maureen Allen]

Thank you for the comments.

I did tone down the purple spot (OOF crepe myrtle bloom) but I can work on it some more.


This is a fascinating pose, at first I thought you had cropped the body or something like that!! I see the body has gone backwards on second take - he looks a bit like a puppet head to me:S3:
You have good sharpness and exposure but I would suggest a different pose to show a better view of the body. Maybe you could put some bait out for him/her so that he goes towards it and you never know you may get a shot with the tongue out.

Jonathan, I purposely chose this pose because it shows what amazing contortionists these little chameleons are. But I can certainly see that it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. No need to bait her, she's very tame and readily approachable.

[PhilCook]

This is great Maureen, love all his bumps ! Placement in the frame with the branch diagonally is perfect, and am surprised at the dof at f2.8, I would of expected it to be shallower, but as is it's very nice. Colors are rather nice too, and the pose of the subject gives a nice 3D appearance

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Maureen, this very nice showing the rough texture of the body and good view of the head. I would prefer a better look at the eye but overall this is well done.

Allen

[shane shacaluga]

I love the prehistoric look on these. Just a question as I have same lens on a D7000 and trying to learn as much as possible. Why did you push the ISO so high when using the flash?

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Maureen. Chameleons are very cool creatures and you captured an unusual pose. I like the comp with the diagonal stem. I would agree with toning down the purple - and some of the brighter white spots in the background. There are a couple minor things I'm noticing - the sharpest part of the image seems to be on the back of the head and onto the shoulder area while the front of the mouth is a little soft. Also, there appears to be some "ghosting" occurring along the lower edge of the right front leg - this happens when the flash output and the ambient light are too close to each other and something moves during the exposure creating a double image. I had to look hard to see it on this image and a little cloning along that edge should fix it. :S3: Since this is a captive animal you should have plenty of opportunities to strive for the perfect image - and I hope you post it here!

[Maureen Allen]

I love the prehistoric look on these. Just a question as I have same lens on a D7000 and trying to learn as much as possible. Why did you push the ISO so high when using the flash?

Hi Shane. This was a very difficult lighting situation, with the chameleon in deep shadows and a very bright background. I was trying to use as much ambient light and as little flash as I could get away with. The flash powered down to 1/8, with a diffuser.

[Maureen Allen]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. This chameleon and her male friend live close by, so I will have opportunities to try again using some of your very helpful suggestions :S3: