Frogscape

[Andrew McLachlan]

I thought this one was probably most suited to this forum.

Photographed this one up at the family cottage on Horseshoe Lake near Parry Sound, Ontario. For three days in a row this large male Bullfrog sat under this raised up lilypad leaf before moving onto another area of the marsh. Perhaps he was driven off by all the aphids on the leaves around him.

I positioned the canoe along side of the frog and using Live View framed up several various compositions. Used a level in the hotshoe to keep everything on the level.I preferred this one for the arrangement of the clouds and blue sky. In the distance on the right side is a large cliff that rises up behind this wetland. The line of color running through the forest is trees that have died off from lack of rain. We have had a very dry summer over this way and I think it will result in a very poor display of autumn color this year.

Look forward to comments.

Nikon D800 (in DX mode)
Nikon 12-24mm lens @ 24mm (36mm equivalent)
ISO 800
f22 @ 1/400 sec
Hand Held
2-stop grad filter to hold back the sky

[laurie golden]

Maybe it is cooler under the lilypad. I am a fan of close up wildlife with landscape background and this one is very nice. You have great composition and detail. Lovely scene. May I ask why you took the photo in dx mode and not fx with the intention of cropping later?

[Andrew McLachlan]

Thanks Laurie, the lens I was using is the Nikon 12-24mm lens which is a DX lens, so the D800 automatically switches to DX mode with such lenses. I still have a couple of DX lenses that I need to replace with FX lenses...this lens is one of them, but I do love to use it for images such as this.

[Marina Scarr]

Absolutely LOVE this wide angle view, Andrew. Good thinking on using the ND filter on the sky. There is one wayward grass over on the left that I might consider evicting if you are not opposed.

[laurie golden]

Andrew,

Thanks for the info. I just got a D800 and have not used it for a landscape yet. I do have the 14-24 but it is so wide I was thinking that I would have to crop. I also have the old 24-120 lens which I understand will not be good with the D800 so uncertain what to do. I will be trying it out in Jasper NP later this month.

[Rachel Hollander]

Andrew - I really like this as is and the sky looks great so good job with ND filter. POV is excellent. Another alternative crop that seems to work really well (from a screen roll) is a pano at the waterline. It places more emphasis on the frog. Nice job, especially from the canoe.

TFS,
Rachel

[Ken Watkins]

Andrew,
The frog itself is superb and the IQ looks good enough for a tighter crop, as Rachel suggested, always nice to see something different!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Andrew, a lovely image that has both character and a little bit of fun too added to the mix.

To me this echoes your skill as a landscape photographer, the position of the subject within frame/overall composition, shooting wider, yet a low POV, choice of additional kit, (the ND filter) and capturing the environment to give the subject context. A well constructed and executed image IMHO. The only two small suggestions I might make, would be a slight 0.7 CW rotation and if you have it, I would move the whole crop a fraction to the right, so the pad is not clipped on the RHS, not a deal breaker, just a thought.


TFS
Steve

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Andrew ,
nothing to add other than Mr Detail.
Just really like the image from all views.

Cheers Andreas

[Steve Canuel]

Nice perspective here and good colors and detail on the frog.

[Arthur Morris]

Super creative eye. Execution perfect as well. Kudos!

[Andrew McLachlan]

Thanks everyone for the kind words, much appreciated!

[Jamie Douglas]

Can't say much more than AWESOME.

Jamie

[Morkel Erasmus]

I love me some animalscapes and I love this shot, Andrew.
Please don't crop this :bg3:
Wonderful execution and exposure/detail/contrast control.
:5

[Andrew McLachlan]

Much appreciated Jamie and Morkel