frogs

[skitterbug]

So I keep reading and experimenting and wonder if I am making any headway. This bullfrog is a huge fellow that lives in our little koi pond. There is never any pre-planning when it comes to pics of him so I capture what I can. Now I'll post two and ask for opinions and guidance!
Thank you!

[Barbara Ponder]

Sandy the first one the frog is great, sharp and the color is good. For me I would like for him to have a little more space in front of him, room to jump as it were. On the second one, I like it very much but find the rocks in the foreground distracting, cropping would change the composition too much so i am not sure how to deal with that. Hopefully others will have suggestions!

[Rebel]

Very nice Sandy, I love the green in the first image!

[skitterbug]

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I should have started with my original pics instead of putting my attempts of post-processing in my original post.

So for the first one, he had a huge rock in front of him and when I saw him, I had to laugh because I was wondering if he was going to clear it in one leap. There are also some marigolds close by and those are not in focus so that's why I cropped the pic.

Here is the original ( I take them in RAW format) as a JPG now.


And the second fellow had a little more rock around him but I thought I wanted to focus on his strong legs so I cropped a bit to bring him more to the center of the pic.



So that was my thought process for how I chose to process them. Any recommendations? <smile>
I'd love to get him to sit for longer periods of time so I could think a bit longer about composing the pic, but he is an impatient sort usually. <chuckle>

[skitterbug]

Thanks Matt! This bullfrog has been lots of fun and I'm hoping he makes it through the winter okay.

[Shadowman]

Nice efforts.

[Ziggy]

Hi sandy, like your frogs. I might try a crop like this in the first one, just me.

[skitterbug]

Thanks John!

Hi Jim ~ Your crop does give him a little more space. I am out the door now but later I'd like to dig through my tries and post one of him contemplating the rocks in front of him. BTW, he does like bugs. If we toss him a live cricket or grasshopper, he makes short work of the snatch and gulp!

[DougR]

Sandy,
Both pictures are very nice but I really like the first one; love the colors.

[bnnrcn]

I too love the colors in #1 , I would try new shots with different angles if possible

[skitterbug]

Doug and Binnur - Thank you for your comments.
I have the one I mentioned earlier that shows the rocks this fellow was looking toward. I don't have any idea about what he did decide to do because I only had a short time to try for pics and then I had a meeting to attend. Frustrating when real life interferes with a photo opportunity......

But here is another - straight from the camera converted to JPG so I could upload it. I"m not sure I'd do much with it except maybe crop a little and perhaps tweak the color a bit?

[IzzieK]

Aw....good shot of #1...my little grandchild will love to visit your place very much...she is 2.5 years of age and she is into frogs at the moment. They went to the Melbourne Aquarium recently and instead of being interested in the fishies there, she was asking to see the frogs...where are the frogs, Mama??? Frogs and greens...and she wouldn't change her mind ...

[skitterbug]

Hi Izzie ~ Sorry I am late getting back to you!

I don't know what is so appealing about frogs (and toads) but I do enjoy them and when I can catch them sitting out along our little pond, I try and capture the moments. Most of the time they float with their heads just peeking out and their eyes watching for something yummy!

My 4 year old grandson also enjoys frogs! I am planning on getting a few printed and framed for his room for Christmas. I think he'll enjoy looking at them...for now anyway.
It is always good hearing from you!