Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
Last night’s southern breezes and thunderstorms brought a summer-like day today. I awoke to chorusing birds this morning, including a Nashville Warbler and a Red-eyed Vireo, home from the tropics at last. For amphibians, the day brought some new trigger temperatures. What had been cool-weather frog choruses dominated by Spring peepers and chorus frogs were suddenly transformed into a spectacular din of gray treefrogs, American toads, Spring peepers and chorus frogs joined by the occasional leopard frog. For the aware and careful, our nighttime roads became a slalom course of frog avoidance. In just a few miles, I had avoided nearly a hundred amphibians of four species. No time to lose, I returned home, picked up my camera, and traveled some favorite “class B” backcountry roads in search of a photo subject. I made the use of a little extra energy on a work night, and I photographed frogs from 11PM to midnight.
Among the dozens of frogs I gently guided my vehicle around, I chose to pick this gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) from the road. I immediately found the perfect studio of deadfalls, and I perched the frog proudly on a single branch. I made the second image as the frog leapt to freedom and was momentarily hung up in a bouquet of bedstraws and other forest greens. While the first image shows the effective camouflage of the treefrog, the second image shows those dashing yellow leg patches so seldom seen when this species is in a natural pose. Note the turned head, toe pads and flexible grip of this expert climber! The true frogs, genus Rana, are unable to turn their heads or grip with their toes.
To make these images, I used my Canon 40D, Canon 300mm and a Gitzo “Reporter” basalt tripod with ball head. The pop-up flash worked nicely on the 40D, and I used the Live View function on the 40D to achieve the finest focus (Bruce Leventhal taught me this technique last winter. Check out http://bruceleventhal.blogspot.com/). I shot at f-stop 11 to allow for greater depth of field. My source light for focus and composition in the dark of night was a mini-Mag flashlight. Barred Owls provided plenty of entertainment with their “Who Cooks for You Alllllllll” calls as I set up my shots. A very nice night out!
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