As I was hiking last Thursday in Prince William Forest Park, I spotted a cool-looking mushroom on a moss-covered fallen tree. I crouched low to the ground so that I could capture an eye-level shot of the mushroom. While I was carefully composing a few shots in the camera’s viewfinder, my eyes detected some movement in the corner of the frame and I was a bit shocked to see the head of a Five-lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus), one of the few lizard species in Virginia.
Skinks are generally very skittish, so I froze in place and slowly changed the focus point from the mushroom (first photo) to the skink (second photo). Once I knew that I had captured those shots, I moved slightly to the side to see if I could get a better angle on the skink.
I never could not see the skink’s entire body, but really like the final shot that shows a lot of the details of the skink. I am not sure what the skink was doing, but it seemed to be focusing intently on something. Perhaps it was so focused on a potential prey that it was less aware of me than it might otherwise have been.
A small change in focus made a big difference in the final results. Maybe that’s true in other aspects of our lives.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Great reflexes to get two wonderful images for the price of one!
I have no doubt the skink was attracted to the mushroom because he heard that it was a — fungi.
(Sorry.)
Thanks, Wally. I have a warped sense of humor, so I greatly enjoyed the Fungi joke–I am a huge fan of Dad jokes.
Fantastic serendipity and great skill in pivoting to the new opportunity!
Thanks, Laura. In situations like this, my mind is moving at a fast rate as I adapt to the situation, but I am trying to move my body slowly and deliberately. It is like the analogy that is sometimes used of a swimming duck. Above the surface of the water the duck looks calm, but below the surface its feet are paddling like crazy. 🙂
Gre