7/29/2010
Now You See Me
Eastern American Toad. This is why you always carry a second camera when digiscoping. You just never know what is going to hop across your path. Literally in this case…both the hop and the path part. He came to rest first under a clump of grasses beside the Kennebunk Bridle Path, which made getting an angle more than difficult, but then hopped out in the open before I had finished with him. Not that he is much more visible out in the open than under the grasses. 
Such a handsome creature!
Canon SX20IS at full zoom, 560mm equivalent, and Macro. F5.7 @ 1/320th and 1/250th @ ISO 400. Programmed auto.
For the top shot, I had to use the flip out LCD on the Canon to get the angle, and then, finding the toad on that LCD at full zoom was a real challenge!
A touch of Fill Light and Blackpoint right in Lightroom. Added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset. Both images cropped slightly for composition.
From Around Home 2010.
beautiful;he fits in like a sniper does
Most excellent toad-person. Yes, I say that on purpose. I’m one of those oddballs who finds animals richer in the best qualities than humans are.