Smiling Spotted Salamander.

[Daniel Cadieux]

During our latest outing to the cottage we got a pleasant find with this Spotted Salamander. My two sons love looking under rocks and rotten logs for them. We usually find smaller Lead-backed Salamanders, but this one was quite large (thick) and striking compared to those. After taking a few photos it was time for the boys to return it where they found it. I love how it looks so content!

Canon 40D + Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens @63mm + 20mm extention tube, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/100s., f/9, ISO 800, +0.3 EC, full-frame.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks Peter! Yes, handheld...lying flat on my stomach with camera body sitting to the ground and lens resting on my left hand which is also on the ground (kinda like holding a pool cue). The battery grip offers a bit more height to the body so my neck is not too twisted looking through the viewfinder:)

[Katie Rupp]

I like the limited dof here as well the sharpness of the face/eyes; you can almost feel the skin's texture. Thanks for including the family details, I also have two sons, grown now but we are still adding good memories to our family lore.

[Andrew Aveley]

DOF is superb in getting focus on the head ! Great colours and comp here !:D

[Robert Amoruso]

Good use of DOF and I like how the receding tail focus adds depth to the image.