Macro Monday-The Eyes Have It (Frogs)

For my (once again late) Macro Monday post this week, I'm posting some images of green frogs (Rana clamitans) and American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) that I took at Huntley Meadows Park earlier this summer.  I'm always attracted to the eyes of the frogs in my images.  There is something about the color, shape, and captured reflections that just captivate me.  Perhaps it is just that they look so much unlike the mammalian (human) eyes that I'm familiar with.  I discovered early on in my work with frogs that if you stalk them successfully and get close, the frog will remain quite still for its portrait.  Most of my close-up images of frogs have been taken under relatively low light and with a small aperture, necessitating shutter speeds of 1 second or more (at close to life-size magnification), but they all come out tack sharp.  The things I like best about not resorting to flash for these images are the complex highlights and reflections you can capture in the frog's eyes.  In the green frog images below you can see a reflection of the forest canopy and in the bullfrog image a reflection of the boardwalk.  Hope you enjoy!  As always, I love to hear (and respond) to your comments or questions...  Click on any image to be brought to a larger version or to purchase prints or a license.