Most of the frogs that I have seen in the last few months have been hopping away or diving into the water as I walked along small streams in search of dragonflies. Last weekend, though, I happened to notice a frog in the shallow water of a small pool in the woods of my favorite marshland park.
The light was nice and the frog was only partially submerged, so I moved closer to the frog to take some shots. I could tell was a Southern Leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus), a pretty common frog where I live. I really like the distinctive spots that are responsible for its name.
Standing relatively upright, I was able to get a good shot of the frog’s entire body. I was happy with the shot, but not fully satisfied, so I decided to try for a lower shot. Sometimes I will lie on my stomach with my elbows propped on the ground for this kind of shot, but the ground was wet and muddy, so I settled for a low crouch. I was hoping to get as close to eye level with the frog as I could.
When you look at the two photos, you can notice some interesting differences caused by the change of perspective. The frog appears much flatter in the second shot and some interesting reflections of the eyes have now appeared, which might have been caused more by a change in sunlight than by the change of position. Somehow I feel a little bit more immersed in the frog’s world in the second shot.
I’m not sure I’d be able to judge which of the two shots is better—I like aspects of each one. More importantly, I reminded myself of the important of varying my perspective, of changing angles and distances when working with a subject.
You can learn a lot by getting down with a frog.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Being at eye level with your subject makes such a difference! Although you see the whole frog in the first shot, the second one is more engaging because that eye looking straight at you. But having the luxury of more than one shot makes for a great combination.
Frogs can be amazing teachers. I am disappointed you didn’t jump right into the mud and get an even lower perspective (this coming from someone who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty)!!
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Your description of stalking the frog reminded me of trying to catch them when I was a boy. They’d let you get just so close and then be gone so fast it would make you stagger.
I’m glad this one decided to pose!
You described perfectly the “hunt.” I must say that my approach is somewhat like a child in the sense of wonder that I feel so often at discovering something new or something especially cool to photograph.