Wood frog calling

A week ago, the weather warmed up enough for the wood frogs to spend a half day calling. Amazingly enough that seems to be all that they will do for this year as a cold front moved through that night and there have been no more calls even with recent warm ups. (7D2, 100-400 @ 400, 1/200 s, f/13, iso 400, tripod, cropped to 2:1)

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I never see woodies in the water, just in the woods or my lawn so this is a treat. I especially like the radiating ripples - it contrasts with the lazy pose. The tonality in the image is nice, too and highlights the lovely brown and bronze of the frog itself. I did a little scroll crop off the bottom and kind of like it. Since the frog is centered so perfectly it adds a little tension. Soon ours will be up and about, but not yet.

Great capture, Mark. Love his expression and position. As though he hasn’t got a care in the world. Ripples and reflections do help emphasize the frog nicely. I’ve not seen “wood frogs” down here and am curious about when you say there have been no more calls . . . did the cold front kill them? Have they moved on to warmer climates? Just wondering? Very nicely seen and captured.

Mark, here in Korea I noticed something very similar. Our “wood frogs” had a bit more time (2-3 days) and about 5 or 6 gathered in the lake, one couple mated, but then the cold returned and there’s been no sight of them since. I like your composition, where the ripples prompt a centralized subject - I enjoy shots like these with birds too, where you can sometimes get two or more interlocking circles. The light creates great tones here.

Lovely frog photo! I love his pose and the rippling, shimmery water!

I like the golden monotone of the frog and the water. The concentric rings around the frog form a bullseye that draws and holds my eye immediately on the frog. Once I can pull my eye away from the center of the photo, I’m captured by the bubbles that frame the scene.