Category Archives: photography

Teeny, Tiny Toad

When I walk around the pond, many things move. Dragonflies zoom past, of course. Grasshoppers frantically hop out of the way, the cicadas cease their urgent buzz, water birds hurry away on whistling wings, and turtles silently submerge.

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Nikon D5100 f/13 ISO 800 1/180s Nikkor 55-300@300mm – Summer 2012

But small things hop away across the mud, tiny quick-moving things. When they land, they immediately freeze and blend into their surroundings so well they can only be seen if you followed the motion with your eyes and did not look away.

What are they?  I sat out on a log by the pond with my camera, watching and attempting to capture images of these small hoppers. What I caught were images of an amazing variety of teeny, tiny toads and frogs! As you can see, even cropped for maximum visibility they are extremely well camouflaged.

A monster hatched out

Depending on your perspective, what hatched out of this shell is either a menace to your life – or a beautiful, glittering bit of movement, and the shell but a small, nearly invisible bit of detritus rather than a warning of grave danger.

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Nikon D5100 f/5.6 ISO 1600 1/500 s Nikkor 55-300@300 mm – Summer 2012

Something to remember; perspective is so often key to understanding 🙂

Oklahoma Summer Morning

To me, these yellow flowers in the sunshine are Oklahoma in the summertime, in the early morning.

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Nikon D5100 f/11 ISO 100 1/125s Nikkor 55-300@300mm – Summer 2012

Well, the case could be made that a photo of the ubiquitous dry, brown, crispy grass would be more representative of the last few summers in Oklahoma, but that is not what evokes my desire to run out the door with a camera in the early morning. So this photo of small yellow flowers stretching toward the sun, which was, in fact, taken in Oklahoma in the summertime, stands in my mind for the quintessential Oklahoma Summer Morning.

quintessential: representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class

ubiquitous: present, appearing, or found everywhere

Watchful

The cats like to go out with me to take photographs, but they are ever watchful.

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Nikon D5100 f/5.6 ISO 400 1/125s Nikkor 55-300@240mm – Pet Portrait, July 2012

Apparently, they are cognizant of the danger of becoming lunch for a coyote! This photo of Tiger as a watchful, intensely focused cat contrasts strongly with his usual  totally laid back, flopped on his back, rag doll cat demeanor when in the house.

Face Off!

Tiny toad versus butterfly! Who will survive?

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Nikon D5100 f/16 ISO 800 1/180 s Nikkor 55-300@170mm – Summer 2012

Actually, the toad held perfectly still and ignored the butterfly as it walked past, picking up moisture from the mud with its proboscis. The butterfly seemed totally oblivious to the toad (which really resembled at tiny bump of mud)… If it had been a larger toad, I think the butterfly would have become dinner. Maybe.

Just in case the photo doesn’t make it plain, I want to tell you this is a truly tiny toad, around 1/2 inch long!

Seeds at Sunrise

Yes, these are the same seeds from earlier this week, but at sunrise instead of sunset 🙂

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Nikon D5100 f/8 ISO 400 1/250 s Nikkor 55-300@300mm – Summer 2012

This time, the rising sun was so bright behind them! I thought they might come out in silhouette, but I wanted the sunlight glowing through them, the way I saw it. I think I got my settings right, so I am very pleased with this photo!

Creeping Downward

I thought I would share another shot of the tree frog. She was creeping down toward her intended safe haven.

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Nikon D5100 f/11 ISO 800 1/250 s 55-300@270mm – Summer 2012

I am grateful that Bridger spotted her for me and called me out to take her photo. Surely there are many of these frogs in the trees around us, yet we so rarely see them. I get excited when I see wild animals, and I hope I always will!

Surrender!

Uncle! What do we trees and bushes need to say for the rain to come?

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Nikon D5100 f/8.0 1/250sec 55-300@300mm – Summer 2012

Despite the pathos of a single dead leaf on bare twigs, the light through this leaf is beautiful. I am out searching for beauty to photograph. If I wanted to show desperation or decline, I guess I would need different lighting.

What do you think?