Two Green Frogs

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For a SmugMug slideshow click HERE. When you click the link, it will open in a new window and you have two options:
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2) There’s a PLAY/PAUSE button at the top-left of the screen with the transition set at about 5 seconds. Note: clicking the PLAY arrow will run a full-screen slideshow. You can then still use the”<” and “>” symbols to the left or right of the photos as this will pause the slideshow.

If you want the full experience, keep reading.

So, a few days ago I posted this preview photo:

Here’s how that shot came to be.

I was inside painting (walls, ceilings, fingers, shirt, shorts . . . anywhere paint wants to go, it gets there) when I got a text from Melisa. She was outside watering the plants and texted there were a couple of cute frogs on the North wall of the house.

Note: that’s a bit of dead grass or straw on the back of the frog. We had just done some landscaping work and had put down straw in an area we had reseeded.

This next photo isn’t that good but it shows the two frogs on the wall.

When I grabbed the camera, I mounted the macro lens and wish I had left the zoom on there because it would have been easier to shoot these. The footing right below them is uneven (river-rocks on a slope) and I had a hard time getting the angles I wanted.

Also, the wall is in deep shade, so I even tried the on-camera flash.

I looked down to check the settings of the camera and both frogs were gone. I saw one, the one in the first shot at the corner of the wall. That’s a good three feet from where I had last seen it. Pretty quick, they are.

I then figured out where the other frog had gone to . . .

It had hopped to the gutter downspout and was in the process of squeezing between the gutter and the wall where the strap was attached. It was a tight fit.

Again, because of the footing and lighting, I didn’t notice the second photo was out of focus. My Bad.

Anyway, I decided to focus (focus . . . get it? . . . nevermind) on the frog out in the open. But because it was near the groundand the grass was wet, I opted for using the Live View and articulated screen to frame my shots.

. . . and then, it was just gone . . .

It took me a few moments to figure out where it had gone.

The river rocks have yet to see rain, so they are dusty, and that’s what you see on the lens hood; dried dirt.

Anyway, I took the frog on a little ride (showing it to Melisa) as I scrambled to get my phone and unlock it, operate the camera, and capture a few shots all with one hand.

After a few minutes, I put the camera down on the rocks . . .

. . . and it jumped off . . .

And, not just jumped off; jumped up quite a ways. These little guys can jump.

I picked up the camera and remembered it has a video option . . . but, again, the poor footing and angle and shooting while looking at the tilted screen gave me a few issues . . . still, here’s a semi-crappy clip of a longer video that’s mostly out of focus and bouncing all over the place. This short clip is all I salvaged.

Won’t win any Oscars but it’s better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Edited to add:
Information on the frog: https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/7362/502748

That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.

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