Contest with "Froggy"

This is the first photo that I have entered in a contest. I listen to several “how to” and “about” podcasts. With my renewed interest in photography, I have added several photography podcasts to my usual lineup. These “hobbiest” podcasts often run contests and assignments. More interesting than the prizes (although I would love to win some gear) are the actual assignments.

Adding constraints to learning is often inspiring. Big ideas become imaginable. I entered this contest because we have a unique pet that I have been eager to photograph. The contest energized me to set up and capture the image.

The subject is Foggy our green tree frog (Hyla cinerea). One of the challenges in capturing Froggy was that he doesn’t come out of hiding very often. One evening, I noticed that he was perched just right for a photo. I got my tripod out of the garage, mounted the camera, turned off the flash, stopped down the aperture as much as I could, set the self timer, and hoped for the best. I got lucky with this image because Froggy spooks easily. Normally, he scoots away to his hiding spot if I just look at him. For this shot, I stuck a camera right in his face.

Click on the image to view it in high resolution. I think the colors come through very nicely.