Water Monitor Lizard

[Nate Chappell]

Here's an image from our last trip to Thailand in January 2009. There are quite a few big water monitor lizards living in the canals and lakes of Lumpini Park in downtown Bangkok. I set out to get some images of them one afternoon. If you move slowly you can get pretty close to them sometimes. This is full frame horizontal, I cropped a strip from the bottom as the reflection wasn't very impressive. This was taken lying on my stomach on the retaining wall of one of the canals.

MkIII 300F4 1/800 F8 iso 640, evaluative metering -0.3

[Todd Frost]

Outstanding image Nate. Love the comp. Exposure and sharpness right on. Floating leaves add to this giving a look at its environment. Would love this in my files. TFS
Todd

[Harshad Barve]

Spectacular image Nate , techs spot on , sticking out tounge and awesome habitat makes this grand for me
TFS

[Marc Mol]

Great comp, lighting, exposure, nice and sharp with a good low angle, a lot to like here Nate, well done.
TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Some fine sharp detail captured here Nate, and the protruding tongue puts this over the top. Comp works well, and although I dont find the leaves in the water distracting, I would maybe clone out the small twig below his chin.

[Ignacio Yufera]

The tip of the tongue just touching the water is perfect. Grat detail and expression, not always easy on a reptile...

[Sabyasachi Patra]

I like the colours, sharpness and the overall sharpness. It stands out against the background. The tongue touching the water adds to the image. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Austin Thomas]

Hi Nate,

Capturing the moment when the tongue hits the water makes this image. Excellent. The head really stands out from the BKGR with great detail.

tfs

Austin

[Steve Canuel]

Reflection not needed for this one Nate. Great angle and excellent detail.

[Paul Taylor]

Excellent image, Nate. The tongue and ripples it leaves are just wonderful, and leaves add to the image for me - these creatures live in some murky waters.

I had no idea you could get so close there - they are very skittish usually. I guess I have somewhere new to go now (Lumpini is out of my way but very easy to get to). Thanks! :)

[Alfred Forns]

Doesn't get any better Nate .... hope you were looking out for crocs :)

[Nate Chappell]

Thanks for your comments everyone, no crocs in downtown Bangkok, except maybe the giant escaped pets that live in the sewers:D:confused:

[D. Robert Franz]

Very cool shot..