i just posted these frog shots as a reply in a different thread....but i thought i should make them a separate post too

[Gato Moteado]

these were all taken around my house with the nikon Z8, the nikon 50mm f/2.8 macro lens and the godox V860iii flash with the AK diffuser.

i noticed a good number of the shots in the smithsonian article were red eyed tree frogs. it's one of the most common frogs i have here around the house:



here is a pair in amplexus, getting ready to find a leaf overhanging the water where the female will deposit a golfball sized glob of eggs that the male will then fertilize:



this is a very blonde milk frog...they're usually more caramel colored:





this is a very confused male red eyed tree frog attempting to get into the amplexus position (he got it backwards) with an annoyed milk frog (i'm not sure if the milk frog is a male or female, but either way, it ain't gonna work)....the milk frog eventually shook loose and moved on:



this one is commonly known as a gladiator tree frog:



i hope you enjoyed these.....more to come as the rainy season progresses here.

[Karadeniz]

1. I wish we had frogs here! Those were lovely!

[Gato Moteado]

4. you have no frogs where you are at?

where are you?

[Karadeniz]

11. Central texas. We have toads and lizards and, of course, snakes, but no pretty

frogs have ever come into our courtyard which opens onto a large pasture.

[Gato Moteado]

12. are you in the austin area?

lots of tree frogs even in the arid hill country

[Karadeniz]

13. About 100 miles north. We dont have any ponds on our property.

[anciano]

2. Awesome pics!

Incredible detail.

[Gato Moteado]

5. thank you

[Skittles]

3. can you tell me how far you are from the frogs when you take the pics?

they are amazing!

[Gato Moteado]

6. i use a full frame camera and for these i used a 50mm lens.....

i try to be within a foot from a frog when photographing it....i mean the front of the lens is within a foot of it...because the diffused flash is more effective the closer you are to the subject. for the smaller frogs, like the red eyed tree frogs and the ones that are even smaller, i'm usually just a few inches away, but for the big stuff like milk frogs or cane toads, i have to back off a bit, maybe a foot, or so, to get them completely in the frame.

looking at a few of these, i think i'm cropping too tight and the subjects look crammed in....i really love detail but maybe i need to back off a bit. i wish andy were here...i'd love to hear his take on it. my work is too clinical and not artistic enough, in my opinion, and it's because i'm too obsessed with details.

are you doing any photography? if so, what kind of camera are you using?

also, how the hell are you? remember when we met in austin? i think you came to david's house when he had a meet up a time or two, possibly when he was hosting william rivers pitt on his texas leg of the book tour he was doing.

[Gato Moteado]

7. damn....that was my 10,000th post.....and i was trying to be conscious of it so i could do something spectacular

hahahahaha

[Skittles]

8. aw no I don't do any photography

but I sure do appreciate good photos!

I remember Austin, Will Pitt was there too. I actually lived in Austin for 17 years!

[Gato Moteado]

9. ok, then yeah it was at david's house.....

....i think he doesn't post here anymore.

[Raven123]

10. Beautiful photos of nature at its finest. Thanks for posting

[ShazzieB]

14. WHat cute little guys!

The red eyed tree frogs are adorable, and the one trying to get it on with the milk frog is hilarious! I hope he was able to find a more willing partner after that!

As for the tight framing, I enjoy it, probably because I'm also into details, I thought these were very nice!

[HAB911]

15. Fantastic!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thanks, dear Gato, for these amazing photos!

These photos do not look crowded to me, not one bit. I like the details too.

Beautiful work!

I wish Andy were here too. I miss him every day.