Yesterday, I met up with a friend to do some herping in a favorite nature preserve of his in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  We didn’t find any unusual species, but stumbled across quite a few Northern Dusky Salamanders, Redback Salamanders, Northern Two-lined Salamanders, and Green Frogs.  We also found a half-eaten flying squirrel, wood frog tadpoles, and a monster sized earthworm, but our search for some of the less often found species, such as Slimy and Red Salamanders and Ring-necked Snake, fell up short.  I had a great time either way, and found a pretty bog filled with Jack-in-the-Pulpits, that I will have to return to at some point this month.

I didn’t take many photographs, but did manage this one decent shot of a Northern Dusky Salamander, a species I previously had not captured, either in hand or on film (or in this case, a digital sensor).  I tried for a lower more intimate angle on this shot, opting for a head-on view as opposed to the more overhead angle of my other sally shots to date.  I wish this image had more DOF (depth-of-field) and that the moss covered rock I used as a perch was a little bit cleaner, but overall I’m pretty happy with my first shot of this species.  The light was mixed sun and dappled shade, so I used my shadow to create softer lighting and used a circular polarizer to help cut glare.  Even with such tricks, it can often be difficult to photograph amphibians because of their wet skin, but I’ll be sure to keep trying different techniques and learning as I go.

Techs: Canon 1D Mark II N, 70-200mm f/4L IS USM, 25mm extension tube, 1.3 sec, f/14, ISO 800.  To order this print, purchase stock rights, or view other photos I have for sale, please visit my website at www.karipost.com.