Up Close & Personal

[Andrew McLachlan]

Last night's trip out to the ponds behind my home was probably one of the best for the Chorus Frogs in a number of years. The number of Chorus Frogs calling was incredible and the sound was quite deafening. Chorus Frogs are not much more than 1.25 inches in length and are generally rather shy, so I was pleased to get this close-up of one with the vocal sac inflated. Processed with Fractalius 'rounded' preset and eye masked back in.

Look forward to comments.

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[Steve Uffman]

Luv it...close to home and truly unique...need to learn how to process something like that...

[Steve Adkins]

Beautiful, Andrew! Wouldn't change a thing. Just curious... Is it pitch dark when you do this?... and how do you illuminate/focus? Still haven't heard a frog yet, but these 70+ degree days are helping. :S3:

[Dave Woeller]

I love this image and the processing too. I'll be watching for the response to Steves question above.

[denise ippolito]

Very cool look Andrew, I might tone down the front twig a little if it were mine. Love your choice of processing and it must have been amazing to hear in person. Nicely done.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Much thanks for the comments. I appreciate them.

Good call on the twig Denise...the original is not that bright, but the fract seems to have brightened it.

Steve, yes, these are photographed at night. During the daylight hours I can get within 50 feet of the pond without the Chorus Frogs going silent. At night it is much easier, but still a little difficult at times. I also find it easier to approach them on overcast nights as opposed to clear nights. Sometimes I have to sit down beside one for awhile and wait for it to start calling again. I use a head-lamp to make my way around the pond until I find a frog that looks promising. I then turn off the head-lamp and turn on a tiny clip-on flashlight that is attached to my flash bracket and pointed in front of the camera. The clip-on flashlight is what I use to focus on the frogs. Once I have them framed up the way I want them, I wait for them to call or do something interesting and then fire away. I use my Nikon SB400 Speedlight for this type of work. The pond that these Chorus Frogs are using is about 2 feet deep.

[Steve Adkins]

Very cool, Andrew. :c3: Thanks for sharing!

[Indranil Sircar]

Andrew, this one awesome! I now have a much higher appreciation on how you did this! It is amazing! Love the composition and color of the inflated vocal sac. The fract works just perfect. This is now my new favorite of yours :S3:

[Andrew McLachlan]

Steve...YAW

Indranil...much thanks, very much appreciated!