Weekly Challenge
Aquatic Life (Freshwater Focus)
7/5/26 - 7/11/26
Critique Style: Standard
The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
There are at least 6 Green Frogs in my backyard water garden. They can be interesting subject material. This one was hanging out in the rapidly flowing portion of the stream. After a few photos, it turned and looked directly at me…just coincidence or was it aware of my presence…
Feedback Requested
The roundness of all Green Frog’s noses make it feel (at least to me) that the nose is never sharp. In this case, it may not be, because I focused on the eyes. With the stare, It felt right to center the frog, which also gives is a bit more visual weight against the mottled rock background and the abstraction of the flowing water.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
Focal length: 500mm
Shutter speed: 1/80s
Aperture: f/11
ISO: 6400
tripod and AI noise reduction
1 Like
Very cool capture!! Those eyes do stand out and the DOF feels perfect to emphasize them. I could see a slight crop from the bottom, or a dark vignette, but a small point.
Mark, he really did pose nicely for you. Maybe he was curious of what you were doing. Lovely portrait of him. I like @Diane_Miller suggestion for the oof area at the bottom of the image, although I would certainly be thrilled to have captured this just the way it is. I wish I had a water garden to attract such critters to photograph. You must be really enjoying it.
Shirley, it doesn’t take a very big pond to attract damselflies, dragonflies and birds. Maybe 3 feet diameter and tapered to a foot deep, with some vegetative cover on at least one side. Today’s solar powered pumps can make a small falls with some flowing water. That’s roughly the size that I started with back in 1995 without a pump…It did keep growing over the years… 
, and yes I spend several hours a day nearby.
Thank you, Mark. That sounds pretty good. I’m not sure how well it would do here in the lower part of NC. My yard now has no trees or bushes in it also, which probably would make it less appealing to the critters. I do appreciate the info though. I can sure understand why you spend a good deal of your time out near it.
Mark: Belligerent looking little guy. Judging from your techs this had to have been pretty low light so kudos to you for getting a clean image. Of course as a single capture devotee the DOF works fine for me but I do see what you mean about the nose. I’m curious how a stack might work with the moving water. Would it work at all or should the entire field be stationary ? I’m really late to the water garden scene but will be posting some from our new ventures soon. Really nice work here. >=))>
Bill, stacks of moving water usually show more differences than were really there. I often paint in the water from a single (or small number) of slices to get a more realistic look. There are also times where the extra abstraction is a benefit.
