Gecko in Habitat

[Dave Leroy]

I believe it is a Golden Spotted.

7D, 100mm macro, 1/160, f/8, ISO400, HH.

Another cooperative subject.

Photo has a bit cropped from top, bottom and right.

Dave

[Chris Korman]

Good capture. Very pleasing quality of light falling on the scene, Is this natural light or strobe? Did you try different apertures? I'd be interested to know what this'd look like at f2.8.

[Brendan Dozier]

That is an awesome capture Dave! Great detail & sharpness on the head. Like the colors of surrounding habitat, and might look good with more dof, but I really like the lack of dof on the body in this case - it seems to work as a whole composition. Well done!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dave,
I guess i have more questions than answers on this one.....first, I would have preferred the entire leaf in.....a slight tip downward would have fixed that.....so if that was part of the crop(which it appears it was)....add that back in! Remember....I am fine with tight crops....so if you could get the tip in.....even just barely.....that would work better for me comp wise. Now for DOF.....while I understand and often like shallow DOF....it's not really working for me here as so much is OOF. Looking at the specs.....why not 1/100 ss?....that is hand holdable...throw in ISO 640 on the 7D.....1 and a half stops more to give to DOF. On cooperative subjects.....work the DOF scale or if it is windy....the SS. Just some options to keep in mind for in the field next time out.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Dave. The sharpness and detail around the head are excellent as is the exposure. More DOF would be nice, but it's not a deal-breaker for me. I like the position of the head in the frame, but I agree with Roman that just a bit more room at the bottom to fit in the tip of the leaf would be an improvement.

I'm not an expert on reptiles, but I'm wondering if this isn't an anole rather than a gecko. Geckos typically have larger eyes, thicker toes, and a thicker tail than what I'm seeing here. (You might do a Google search on Golden Spotted Geckos and look at some of the images to see what I mean.) :S3:

[Gary Hamilton]

I'm leaning more toward Steve's take on the DOF issue. That leaf is very busy and, despite its value as camo, more DOF might take away from the razor sharp head, which really stands out against the purple and black. You're not trying to sell us car insurance, are you Dave? :bg3:

[Dan Brown]

I wouldn't dissagree with any of the comments above but I like what you've posted non the less! Something about the distorted head size that's neat!

BTW, I am 99% sure that this is an Anole and not a Gecko.

[Dave Leroy]

Well after doing a bit of work on Google I am 100% sure this is an Anole. This little character would every once in a while do a bit of a throat display. So thank you Steve and Dan for getting me straight.

I also was able to get a bit of a photo of a gecko.

I also noticed the bit of leaf tip shortly after posting. The TIF is cropped so must go back to RAW.

A two stop increase in dof may have been possible with ISO800. The dof doubles but certainly would not come anywhere near to getting all of the anole in focus. It would have brought more detail out of flowers but I believe they would have also been out of sharp range. Perhaps a subjective choice.

I have another with unfortunately a short dof and if I have a chance will post with an explanation.


Thanks for comments now must pack bags and head home.

Dave

[Norm Dulak]

Hi Dave.

I think this image has interesting possibilities, but IMYHO the very shallow DOF is a distinct liability. Had you been able to bring more of the image into sharper relief, I would have been happier.

With such large subjects, I feel that the lens must be stopped down below f/8 to encompass not only the primary subject, but the surroundings as well.

Still, I think this is a most interesting subject, and I heartily thank you for sharing it with us. :S3:

Norm

[Ken Childs]

Hey Dave, I think the DOF looks fantastic as is! I think you had 2 choices.....shoot as you did or try going for a LOT more DOF. I think you made the right choice because at this close distance, I don't think there is any way to get the entire lizard in focus and with a smaller aperture, you would have also had to deal with the DLA factor. More room on the bottom would definitely improve an already nice image.
This has a very distorted comical feel to it and I like it that way! Well done!:cheers:

[Norm Dulak]

This has a very distorted comical feel to it and I like it that way! Well done!:cheers:

This is a very interesting point of view, from a very accomplished photographer and commentator in this field. Still, I think that an image presented as a "Gecko in Habitat" should really not have a distorted comical aspect to it.

Again, I think that a bit more DOF might have been more appropriate to accomplish the stated objective. :S3:

Norm

[Linda Dulak]

Dave: Interesting little fellow.

Looking at this I'm a bit intrigued by the tail following the central vein of the leaf and keep wishing I could see more of that. Therefore, the request for more depth of field is, to me, valid. However, it's probably not possible to get enough to get the whole fellow in focus (slow SS at f8 already) so, I would have tried to take a small step to the left and get the gecko's body more parallel to the sensor. That would have allowed more of the body to be in focus while still grabbing some of the habitat.

Thanks for showing this interesting gecko and habitat.

Linda

[Dave Leroy]

Thanks everyone for the interest and comments. They are all good as well as individual.

What i remember most about the shot is I was on my knees leaning out and ever closer to the anole trying to make sure i could get a sharp photo with all of the little creature in the photo and not scare it back into cover. It was fun, and I think I accomplished my goal.

I had the camera in Av mode and changing aperture settings would have been quite easy to do just to see the options. I did not do it, but this is how you learn. Post photos and get comments.

:S3:

Dave

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks everyone for the interest and comments. They are all good as well as individual.

What i remember most about the shot is I was on my knees leaning out and ever closer to the anole trying to make sure i could get a sharp photo with all of the little creature in the photo and not scare it back into cover. It was fun, and I think I accomplished my goal.

I had the camera in Av mode and changing aperture settings would have been quite easy to do just to see the options. I did not do it, but this is how you learn. Post photos and get comments.

:S3:

Dave

You did do well Dave. Mission accomplished! :S3:

[Ken Childs]

With critters like this, I just keep shooting away until it leaves or I get bored. The weird thing is that very often, the first or the last shot I take ends up being the best. :bg3:

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Liked the way the head is popping out of the OOF (vibrant coloured) surroundings.
Lovely image !

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Dave, wonderful image. Some great tips already given. I would like to add that a slight CW rotation (either in PP or in the field) may have provided a stronger composition. I'm in the "DOF is great" camp on this one. Furthermore, I like the excellent sharpness and details on the head as well as the nicely saturated colors. The whole image breathes "tropics" to me! Sounds like you had a lot of fun with this little fellow.