Wee One From the Woodpile

Spring is the perfect time for me to find salamanders in the woodpile. I'm usually getting down to the bottom of the pile and salamanders are getting active because it is still moist and getting warm. Yesterday I uncovered this slender salamander under one of the last logs in the pile. At first glance I thought it was a worm until I noticed the tiny little legs sprouting out from the body. I carefully placed it in a glass container. This morning I photographed it before setting it free. Compare the salamander to some of the fir needles in the images and you can get an idea of how small they are. God's blessings upon your week, chris All of these images were created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S 60mm USM macro lens on a tripod. #TeamCanon

Sally

Earlier this week while getting some wood from the woodpile I discovered this cool little salamander between the layers of the tarp covering the pile. It was awesome in appearance being black with gold flecking. Size wise it was very small only being about two inches long. It was also difficult to capture because it was really fast and active for a salamander. This afternoon I photographed it before releasing it back into the woodpile where I had captured it. I'm sure it has some pretty wild stories to tell to its buddies. God's blessings upon your weekend, chris Both of these images were created with a Canon T1i camera and a Canon EF-S 60mm macro USM lens. #TeamCanon

My Only Take on Costa Rican Amphibians

I was really looking forward to photographing frogs when I was in Costa Rica. I'm always seeing these images of these fascinating glass frogs and other cool things. I was a bit disappointed when we had to cancel our trip to the rainforest where they are found. We realized it was going to be a long, long bus ride to the rain forest so we canceled. The day we would have done it I caught a really cool looking little guy next to the pool in the morning and I posed him on a branch to photograph him or her. It was similar to the Pacific Chorus Frogs we have in Mendocino County except it was quite large about quadruple the size. When I asked the maintenance guy at the villa where we were staying what it was called he told me it was a Garande Frog or is it a toad. I'm not too sure.... God bless, chris Image created with a Canon 7D

Rose and Frog

Lenore's roses are in bloom with such a heavenly scent and soft rich colors. What could be a more wonderful combination than a frog and roses? This morning I spent about half an hour in the photoblind photographing hummingbirds. When I came out of the blind there was a Pacific Chorus Frog sitting on top of the table right outside the blind. It looked great with the roses. May you have a blessed evening, chris These images were created with a Canon 7D and a 100mm macro lens on a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod. Camera setting used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/5th of a sec.

Back to the Woodpile

Yesterday was another inside kind of day. It was gray and cloudy all day except for a break in late afternoon when a rainbow appeared promising hope! . While getting some firewood I discovered a Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla)AKA Pacific Chorus Frog and Northern Pacific Treefrog, Northwest Chorus Frog under the tarp use to keep the wood dry. At first I was unsure it was a Tree Frog because it was a colored a very dark gray almost black. By the time I got around to photographing it the frog has changed its coloring to a light tannish brown. It is amazing how they can do that. They are such a neat little frog with pads on their feet that allow them to climb even glass. Here are a couple of images that I really liked before I set the little creature free. God's love and blessings upon your day ChrisRainbow created with a Canon 7D and a Canon 100-400 IS lens at 100mm. Camera setting used was AV mode, ISO 1600, F7.1an 1/1600th of a sec. The Frog was photographed with a 100mm macro lens. The camera was set to AV mode, ISO 1600,f 4.5 at 1/15th of a sec. The last frog image was ISO 1600, F 8.0 at 1/25th of a sec.

F.R.O.G.

Today was a "Fully Rely On God" kind of day. Shouldn't every day be that? I ended up in emergency with a full blown anxiety attack thinking I was having a heart attack. No heart problems though they do want to do a follow up. I'm OK just need to see my GP to get my blood sugars looked at and do a stress ekg test. I had planned on doing some bird photography out in the Little Lake Valley this morning. Obviously that was out. When I got home from the hospital I found a Pacific Tree Frog in front of our garage. So here he is. Thank you Lord for this day, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, 100 mm Macro Lens, Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod with a Manfrotto/Bogen 3055 ballhead. Camera Settings- AV Mode,ISO 400,F 5.0 at 1/20th of a sec.

Catching Up on Yardwork

I almost didn't pick up my camera all day. I worked out in the backyard cleaning up all of my bird photography mess from this winter and in general tried to make the yard habitable again. This evening I was out doing the last of it (you are never really done) when I spotted a movement down near my left foot as a Pacific Tree Frog tried to hop away.It was a little too slow and I grabbed it.I took it up to the house and photographed it on a stone and the brought it back to where I caught it and let it go. Ah, freedom at last! May God bless you and keep you, chris

Ensatina

Yesterday I set up a new photoblind at a friends house for doing some bird photography. He has got a number of bird species coming into his yard that I can't photograph at my usual spots. Before leaving to go down to his house I tossed my photoblind into the back of my pick up truck and literally threw a folding camp chair into the back as well. When I arrived and unpacked at his house I discovered a rather dazed Ensatina Salamander on the seat of the camp chair. It was not moving at all. I carefully packed it away into an empty seed container and brought it back home with me. Later I photographed it on a piece of lichen and moss covered bark before I let it go in my backyard. A marvelous beautiful find. By the way it seemed to have completely recovered and was acting like a normal salamander when I let it go. Poor thing. Now it has some wild stories that the other salamnders are not going to believe. God bless, chris

Pacific Tree Frog

This morning I was cleaning up in the back yard and I ran across this Pacific Tree frog on the table behind my garage. I had just broomed the table off when the frog jumped onto the top of the table from the side of the table. I captured the little frog and transferred it to this fern for a more aesthetically pleasing image before I had Jay return it to the wild. God's blessings, chris

Spiders, Snakes and Frogs Oh My!!!

Just as I started typing this today I pulled a tick out from behind my knee where it was crawling around looking for a soft juicy spot to bite me and suck my blood. This morning when I climbed into my photography blind I did a quick visual check for critters that may have taken up residence since I used it yesterday. Once you close that zipper you are stuck inside with whatever has made its way into the blind. OH MY! I have found wasps, spiders and once a snake that slithered away into the grass before I could figure out what it was. Today there was only a brown Pacific Tree Frog on the back of my chair. I plucked him off and into a container so I could photograph him

later. The bird photography this morning was great. It was slightly overcast for good lighting and there were a lot of birds coming into feed as it is supposed to rain tomorrow. They want the good eats before it rains. I was really focused on my photos when I felt something crawling on my leg. I jerked and grabbed downward with my hand and I plucked something soft and wet off of my leg. I opened one of the blind windows for more light only to find a bright green Pacific Tree Frog by my tripod leg. Whew,that was a relief! So it went into the container with the other one. When I got home I got a piece of mossy bark to photograph them on. When I was done I set them free next to our little garden pond. There is a pretty healthy population of Tree Frogs there they can join in with. God's love and light to all, chris