Yesterday I was at a nearby pond photographing mostly dragonflies. After shooting them I decided to make a quick walk around the pond (it’s only a small man-made pond) to see what other subjects I could find. I managed to find a colorful butterfly, a small green heron, and some lotus flowers that I will post later, assuming the photos came out ok.
The subject that really caught my attention, though, was a frog. Really? Yes, really.
I was leaning over the green-colored pond water, gazing at a distant dragonfly when I happened to glance down to my right. There, almost camouflaged in what my friends say is duckweed, was a semi-submerged frog. I was able to get my camera’s lens down pretty low and got in close and captured an image I really like. The frog’s gold-ringed eyes shine out clearly amidst all of the individual particles of duckweed that cover much of his expressionless face.
There are a couple of blades of grass that were partially blocking my view to the frog but they blurred out and are not really much of a problem. After I took some shots, though, I decided to try to carefully remove one of those offending blades. As I made the effort, the frog, who had remained motionless up to then, literally leaped into action. He sprung powerfully into the air and skipped across the surface of the water, like a rock throw by a dad showing his son how to skip rocks.
I was so startled by his sudden motion that I almost fell over into the water. Later in the day I did end up getting wet when I belatedly noticed that one foot was planted in the water while I was intently focusing on composing a shot. I guess that’s the price of being a photographer.
Hiding frog
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
What an incredible photograph! I love the attention to detail and composition you have used, especially having followed the rule of thirds to an effective use!
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Thanks for the positive words. This was a case when I composed the image in the viewfinder the way I wanted it to look rather than rely on cropping after the fact. My mentor, Cindy Dyer, who is helping me along the way as I get more serious about photography liked the image too. As for the rule of thirds, I’ve like to say that I thought consciously about it, but it was more of an instinctive framing of the shot, though I knew enough not to have the eyes in the absolute center.
Well your instincts have proven trustworthy as you have done fantastically with this photograph and I would like to recommend you use it to enter a couple of wildlife competitions as I feel it would have a strong chance!
Good detail and composition, Mike. That eye is absolutely riveting.
Just the previous day I had been looking at a book of wildlife photos and was struck by a shot of a alligator in a similar pose. That was definitely running through my head as I was taking this photo (and the knowledge that it was a lot safer to photograph a frog than an alligator).
Did the frog make a ridiculous noise when it shot into action? Ours do, all the time.Walking the circumference of the pond is like listening to a short segment of morning cartoon noises over and over again.
I can’t recall the noise because I was so shocked when he jumped. I was leaning forward so it seemed like he jumped only inches in front of my face (it may well have been feet rather than inches).
I think that might be a bullfrog — depending on how big it was.
He was mostly submerged so it’s hard for me to know for sure. Is there some identifying characteristic that I could see to know for sure? Mostly I have only the eyes to go by.