Picture of the month April second version. I took this image on a sunny morning at the Neusiedlersee NP. I was looking for birds but discovered a green spot in the reeds while scanning the area. I drove back and looked through the lens. It was a green frog sitting on a stem. Nothing special but this time the green was contrasted by the almost orange reeds ( there is nothing like early morning light ). I set up my tripod, put the lens on and got as close to the frog as possible. There was no need to be quiet as the frog still sleeps. The only thing I had to watch was my steps because the bank was very steep and I didn´t want to have a bath in the water.

I haven´t got to close because the close up lens I used for this shot had a focal length of over 0.5 meters! and that´s without the 1.5crop factor that transformed it in a 4.8/755mm. I tried some version but decided to shoot nearly wide open to blur the reeds in the background. When I stopped down the background became very busy and the Bokeh of my 300 isn´t the best at all. I traded the sharpness of the frog ( his leg is not sharp and his nose as well ) to save the Bokeh.

I really like the image because of the bold colors and my relaxed model. My model has a very strange wart on his back but I decided to leave it there simply because it was there. If my model was a woman I guess I would have cloned it out of course.

Why did I call it second version? Curious - Just have a look here. Again no wide angle-shot as POM since almost 4 years!

settings: A-Mode, 1/1000@f5.6, -1.0 exp., 400 ASA, WB: cloudy -3 but corrected in RSE 2005, lens on Gitzo tripod