Life on the Reeds Photo

Photographer’s Note

Dear friends: In Botswana, the concept of beautiful is not only big and fat. There are also some very little gems to be found and I am not talking about pure carbon!!!

Being densely covered by reeds, papyrus and water lilies, the backwaters of the Okavango Delta contains a myriad of small creatures. In summer, the swamps are full of fish, dragonflies, insects and frogs. The frogs are abundant and the Long Reed Frog, a minuscule pale green amphibian perches on long reeds.

Looking at this photograph, it is quite difficult to estimate the size of this very tiny Reed Frog specimen, with adults barely reaching three centimeters in length.

The Reed Frog shows the greatest variety of brightly coloured markings of all southern African frogs, with a profusion of stripes, spots or stippling. However, the smaller specimens, under about 12mm in length, are generally fairly plain. The Reed Frogs are capable of changing their colour, and what was a striking black and gold pattern may become pale brown and light yellow. But the general pattern remains the same.

The flattened discs on its toes enable them to climb slippery surfaces, such as the stems of the reeds that proliferate throughout its range. It is not surprising that they are extremely common in Botswana's Okavango Delta. But due to their very small size, they are also extremely difficult to spot from a moving canoe. In spite of their large numbers, we needed the guides to point them out in order to see the first one.

The Reed Frog has a fine vocal capacity. Its call is a shrill, high-pitched whistle repeated rapidly, its vocal sac bulging to form a balloon absurdly large for such a small frog. The collective noise of large numbers can be quite deafening. Eggs are laid in flat cakes on the surface of submerged leaves, roots or stems, about 300 to 400 at a time. The breeding season lasts from the first rains in spring to late summer, with metamorphosis taking six to eight weeks. Being found in such abundant numbers, it is common the Reed Frog to be heavily preyed upon by predatory birds.

(Info collected from various web sources.)

WS 1 and 2 are examples of not so small creatures that wander the islands of the Okavango Delta.

rigoletto, Scharan, Bluejeans, MLINES, lucasgalodoido, josepmarin, xuaxo, Docarmo, bertolucci, mcenteesalas, Buin, AROBN54, leonorkuhn, kiwi_explorer, bakes888, axiotea, tabora, belido, stego, paura, trekks, riclopes, manatee, emka, plimrn has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2007-11-27 2:09

Hi Antonio,
Simple yet striking ... well captured and composed. I like the way the subject was presented ... very crean image and good grouping of natural lines. Well done! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

leonorkuhn (14391) 2007-11-27 3:17

Olá Antonio,

Muito interessante as três imagens, uma mostra da diversidade da vida selvagem no delta do Okavango. Excelente detalhes do pequeno sapo, tendo como fundo o céu azul.

Abraços
Leonor

Buin (38628) 2007-11-27 4:39

Hallo Antonio!
I like the very inventive, interesting and skillful buildup of this picture! A great photo in each respect - and the not as well!
Greetings from cool and rainy Germany!
Frank

ang25 (143) 2007-11-27 5:06

Hi Antonio,
Interessante foto, aprecio ver as tuas fotos.
Parece que estou a ver o "Discovery Chanel or Planet Earth" na TV.
Como diz o Frank Kaiser:
Greetings from cool and rainy Massachusetts!

Magui

bertolucci (12022) 2007-11-27 7:01

Olá Antonio, This is almost minimalistic and I like it a lot. The omposition with only three lines and the tiny frog is very pleasinf and rhythmic. Thanx for the interestin info. Thnx for the complimentary pics too - I think it's commendable that you posted this one.
Have a fine week,
Bert

Docarmo (8862) 2007-11-27 8:05

Olá António,
Linda foto, mostrando de forma original uma característica do lugar. Além disso, uma prova visível de que, sem uma referência de escala, pode-se facilmente incorrer em erro - como você bem lembrou, dando-nos as dimensões deste animalzinho, que faz parte de uma "turma" de variados tamanhos. Para quem não conhece bem o assunto, como eu, a foto dá a impressão de que ele é grandote - a informação na sua nota redimensionou minha avaliação :-)
Vi, então, que é do mesmo tipo do que temos aqui na nossa região, provavelmente um "primo nórdico" :-)
As fotos em WS estão lindíssimas! Gostei especialmente do WS-2 que, na minha opinião, merecia um "post" independente!
Parabéns!
MC

xuaxo (5917) 2007-11-27 11:04

Olá Antonio,
Inesperada maneira de nos mostrares a vida selvagem dessa zona. Esperaria fotos como as dos WS, mas essas, mesmo sendo muito bonitas, são mais vulgares.
Parabéns pela originalidade e pela nota que deve ter sido trabalhosa. No conjunto, um post bem instrutivo.
Um abraço,
F

lucasgalodoido (16953) 2007-11-27 12:07

Olá Antônio!
Um belo flagrante dessa simpática perereca, apesar de gosmentos acho esses animais bonitos e preta e branca como essa nunca vi. Gostei das fotos do WS também, mostram bem como é a região.
Parabéns e Abraço!

MLINES (11068) 2007-11-27 13:57

Hi Antonio. A very fine nature composition. The additional reed on the left makes it so dynamic. Excellent result. TFS. Murray.

Scharan (13955) 2007-11-27 19:01

Olá Antonio

Gostei da lisura desta imagem.
Simples e bela composição com cores e formas lindas...parabéns!
GA
Vera

anducina (8153) 2007-11-28 0:45

Excellent minimalist compo, I like those three lines on the BG of the blue sky and the tiny, exotic little creature.

fayeulle (26547) 2007-11-28 2:25

Salut Antonio
Ce n'est évidemment pas l'animal typique se la région. On attend plus des photos de crocodiles, mais tu as raison : la photo de grenouille est nettement mois dangereuse. LOL !
Amicalement
JP

axiotea (16359) 2007-11-28 2:40

Hello Antonio
A minimalist compo with the small frog climbing one of the reed stems which adds graphism to the scene. Nice luminosity and colors too!
Cheers
Marilyn

tabora (13642) 2007-11-28 2:50

Bonjour Antonio,
Une superbe macro photo,accompagnée d'une très bonne note,je m'interroge pour voir si un format carré n'aurais pas donné encore mieux en supprimant une partie sur la droite.
Amicalement Joseph

archimatica (13486) 2007-11-28 3:46

Hi, Antonio.
Fantastic shot... thanks to graphic frog.
Complimenti, bella idea.
Regards
Renzo

josepmarin (34295) 2007-11-28 6:52

Olá António,
realmente debe ser difícil captar esta imagen con un animal tan pequeño, es casi un trabajo en macro pero con el zoom, lo que hace aún más complicado mantener la imagen estable.
El resultado es bueno, y me gusta la luz que hace brillar la piel de la pequeña rana, así como la verticalidad que aportan las plantas a la composición.
Buen trabajo.
Un abrazo,
Josep

stego (22500) 2007-11-28 15:45

Olá António,
Bela lição de Zoologia africana! Tecnicamente está excelente, até custa a crer que o bicho é tão pequeno. E o arranjo gráfico das ervas contra o céu azul está fantástico, apesar da simplicidade.
Um abraço, José.

paura (39632) 2007-11-28 15:55

António,
Linda foto, com composição e grafismo bem executados. Fotometria igualmente boa. Beleza de trabalho, amigo.

Abraço

Paulo

Norte (531) 2007-11-28 18:34

Hi!
A very simple but creative composition!
Great colors and light, perhaps a little minus for the reflection in the frog.
TFS!
Greetings from a snowy and moonlit Tromsø.

trekks (14336) 2007-11-28 18:56

Hi Antonio

You should be commended for taking notice of a small creature like this hanging on a stem, and what more shooting on zoom against the blue sky without loss of clarity. The light is great, and the details with wonderful stems of green and brown. Excellent work. TFS

cheers
bill

riclopes (33159) 2007-11-29 0:31

Gosto muito desta, António. Muito minimalista, com um bonito azul como fundo. A rã é bem gira e com pormenor suficiente para se sentir a textura da pele. Muito pequenina, mas com um grande vozeirão...Os WSs fazem-me lembrar os meus passeios no Quénia. Uma coisa que reparei, foi o facto dos bichos não ligarem grande importância se passássemos de jeep, mas quando iamos a pé, piravam-se logo.
ricardo

belido (17203) 2007-11-29 2:12

Olá Antonio,

a simplicidade da foto é o que mais de atrai. Duas linhas verdes verticais, o fundo azul e o sapinho sobre o graveto. Pois chega a estar poética, daqueles poemas de poucas palavras. Mas é assim que se percebe o poder da fotografia. Aqui não temos paisagens exuberantes, pores-do-sol enigmáticos, temos aqui um aguçado senso fotográfico de sua parte. Parabéns!
Abraço,
Carlos

Ananfoto (10) 2007-11-29 2:49

Hi Antonio,
Simple!but interesting..very nice composition.
Good sharpness and detail.

Cheers,
Anan

ruisc_pt (6213) 2007-11-29 4:12

Imagem fabulosa António.
A macro com essa abertura é de difíil execução.. mas está com o limte do campo de profundidade muito bem aproveitado.
Ab
R

bakes888 (18353) 2007-11-30 0:25

Hi Antonio. Here in NZ our native frogs are becoming more and more scarce and have our Dept of conservation worried with much study being done on them. Hopefully they can turn the situation around. Great wildlife shot. Excellent colours and great sharpness. Well captured and thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

AROBN54 (10799) 2007-11-30 7:28

Hello, Antonio,
what a wonderfully simple and elegant composition. I love the three vertical lines of reed and the frog is presented perfectly in incredible detail. Beautiful light and color and the sky makes a perfect backdrop for it. Verrrrry nice!! Thank you and warm regards,
Shelly

Bluejeans (33457) 2007-12-01 10:41

Ola Antonio ,
Que macro bonita deste sapo , tem uma textura bem bonita , conseguiste um bom contraste de cores , este sapo tem 12 mm de tamanho , gostei muito da nota , parabens!!!
Gostei muito do wx 2 e muito bonito !!!
Um abraço Gonçalo
Bom fim de semana

rigoletto (27112) 2007-12-01 23:25

Hello Mr. Ribeiro,
I love frogs, i don't know why, but i do. With their tiny bodies, large cheeks and popped eyes (and funny voice of course) they never give a feeling of repulsion to me but maybe a feeling of a charming friend :)
And here is a friend, presented in a marvellous minimalistic compo, resulting in a delight for the eyes. A photo which is prone to being a poster on my wall :)
Cheers,
Deniz

Cara (2029) 2007-12-02 13:13

Olá António,
Gostei muito desta composição com o sapo e as suas cores sobressaindo em contraste com o azul de fundo e a "linhas" dos "caniços".
Excelente imagem resultante de 1 crop com visão :)
Cumprimentos, Daniel

manatee (4301) 2007-12-03 17:41

Muy buena Elecion Antonio.

Es exlente, la simplicidad, los colores, la nitidez y l composicion.

Muy fina foto en verdad

Gracias por compartirla

Buen dia

isabela_sor (42765) 2007-12-04 8:33

What a nice note for this image!!!So simple and still so fascinating this image
thanks

emka (22841) 2007-12-04 13:10

Olá Antonio,

How nice this little frog is.Imagem fabulosa.
Parabéns!Abraço,
Malgorzata

Poyet-Coralie (52) 2007-12-08 14:42

Olà!^^'
Well, what a nice "little frOg"! First thank you for your comment.
Nice compostion too, there is nothing superficial because everything has a symetric expect the frog wich is the main subject. Good idea!
Amicalement (quelques commentaires sont en français alors je tente!!!^^')
Coralie

plimrn (19892) 2008-02-04 8:22

Ola Antonio,
Good job catching him stationary. I saw some frogs of similar size in the marshes aound Oregon, but I could never catch them still. I also like the way you framed him against the blue sky.
SAA, Pat

picardo (2308) 2008-07-04 19:40

Hola Antonio,
Muy bien vista la rana en los juncos. Muy buen nivel de detalle y muy interesante la nota.
Saludos
Picardo