I have always been fascinated with frogs. As a child, I remember my amazement at seeing photos of colorful tropical frogs in National Geographic, especially the green tree frogs with big red eyes. Growing older, I loved Kermit the Frog, especially his quirky sense of humor and his propensity for bursting out in song. Even now, one of my all-time favorite movie scenes is from the beginning of The Muppet Movie, where the view begins high above the trees and gradually zooms in on Kermit, who is sitting on a log playing the banjo and singing The Rainbow Connection. I try to hold on to the innocent, wide-eyed optimism of that song.
As a photographer, I have list of aspirational shots, made up of images, subjects, and situations that I would love to photograph. For a long time, I longed to capture a photo of a frog perched on a lily pad. After numerous unsuccessful attempts, I managed to capture such an image a couple of years ago. Despite that “success” I still keep my eyes open for frogs whenever I am in an area with lily pads.
This past weekend I hit the jackpot when I spotted three frogs on a single lily pad. I was exploring a small lake at Ben Brennan Park, a small suburban park in Alexandria, Virginia with a variety of recreational facilities. There is a small elevated bridge over one section of the lake and it was from this vantage point that I was able to capture this image. Initially the three frogs were all facing outwards, looking like they were defending their pad from outside intruders. Just before I took this shot, however, the frog in the back turned toward the middle and looked like he was trying to sneak up on his buddy.
Perhaps he simply wanted to play a game of leapfrog.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
Triple paydirt–you must have been elated!
Absolutely!
Gorgeous photo, what a great find!
Such fun, I to have enjoyed frogs since childhood.
Great photos, Mike, but you had me at Kermit 🙂
This is a lovely image. The composition is perfect.
Fabulous photo, Mike! What a wonderful trio, and well balanced!
Thanks, Pete. I would love to be able to take credit for their poses, but, as you well know, we nature photographers, unlike studio photographers, usually have to make the best of the situations that we encounter (though I try hard to telepathically will my subjects to pose in certain ways–which doesn’t work very well).
Lol! Full marks for your telethapy, Mike! 🙂
🙂
Good one Mike… Perfect triple portrait. Your comment about aspirational shots nade me reflect on what I would really like to capture… Not a frog, but an albatross banking nearly vertically in flight. Hopefully the next big sailing trip will deliver the opportunity!
Thanks, Chris. I like to shoot a lot so that I am as ready as I possibly can be when an opportunity presents itself. It certainly doesn’t guarantee success, but none of us would photograph the natural world if we wanted guarantees.
This is just delightful. It would have been even more special with all three of them facing outward, but this is pretty darned special all on its own.
Frogs don’t seem to be as curious as some creatures, so I suspect that they would have jumped into the water if they had been aware of my presence. Although I am pretty happy with the image, I know that it is always possible to get a better one, which motivates me to keep shooting.