A New eGuide: Focus on Frogs by Andrew McLachlan, the Frog Whisperer

What’s Up?

On Monday, I took a day off on my 2018 tax return. I am swimming walking and exercising every day. I’ve been spending too much time watching the Smithsonian channel. I’ve become addicted to Air Disasters (will I ever get on a plane again?) and Disasters at Sea. Watching the disasters is riveting and the follow-up investigations are fascinating. They almost always reveal that a series of screws-up are needed to create a disaster … While guide surfing, I happened across and recorded Hitsville: The Making of Motown. . After watching it once, I saved it and will watch it often. Berry Gordy’s story is simply amazing.

Your Favorite?

After checking out today’s seven featured Andrew McLachlan images, please leave a comment and let us know which is your favorite frog and/or your favorite image. Either way, please let us know why.

IPT Updates

• The 2019 Fall Sandbar Secrets Fort DeSoto IPT/September 27-30, 2019: One-half and three FULL DAYS: $1499.00. Limit 6/Openings 5. Afternoon session on Friday, September 25 at 4pm, followed by three full days. We photograph till sunset on Monday, September 30
• The Return to Bosque Reduced Rate Scouting IPT. NOV 26-28, 2019 — 3 FULL DAYS: $1199.00. Limit: 8/Openings: 6. Extra Day Options: Join me for one to three extra In-the-Field Days at the end of the IPT as follows: FRI 29 NOV, SAT 30 NOV, and SUN 1 DEC for only $300.00/day.
• The 2020 San Diego 4 1/2-DAY BIRDS AS ART Instructional Photo-Tour (IPT) WED JAN 8, 2020 thru and including the morning session on SUN JAN 12: 4 1/2 days: $2099.(Limit: 8/Openings: 5)

Couples, IPT veterans, and folks wishing to sign up with a friend or with a partner are asked to contact me via e-mail

FlexShooter Pro Update

We currently have FlexShooter Pro heads in stock here. We have all but one of the BigFeet in stock (phone orders only for now: 863-692-0906) but are sold out of the new FLN-60 BigFoot that was recently re-designed for the Nikon 600 VR. Click here to access the pretty much complete FlexShooter Pro story with videos.

BIRDS AS ART

BIRDS AS ART is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Selling Your Used Photo Gear Through BIRDS AS ART

Selling your used (or like-new) photo gear through the BAA Blog is a great idea. We charge only a 5% commission. One of the more popular used gear for sale sites charged a minimum of 20%. Plus assorted fees! Yikes. They went out of business. And e-Bay fees are now up to 13%. The minimum item price here is $500 (or less for a $25 fee). If you are interested please scroll down here or shoot us an e-mail with the words Items for Sale Info Request cut and pasted into the Subject line :). Stuff that is priced fairly — I offer pricing advice to those who agree to the terms — usually sells in no time flat. Over the past year, we have sold many dozens of items. Do know that prices on some items like the EOS-1D Mark IV, the old Canon 100-400, the old 500mm, the EOS-7D, and the 7D Mark II and the original 400mm DO lens have been dropping steadily. Most recently the price of used Canon 600mm f/L IS II lenses have been dropping like a rock with the introduction of the 600 III. You can always see the current listings by clicking here or on the Used Photo Gear tab on the orange-yellow menu bar near the top of each blog post page.

As used gear sales have slowed a bit in recent months — especially with dSLR bodies, there are lots of great buys right now on the Used Gear Page

Canon Macro EF 180mm f/3.5L USM Macro Lens
My Favorite Canon frog lens!

BAA Record-low Price

Long-time friend Alan Levine — Alan and Sara knew Elaine! — are offering a Canon Macro EF 180mm f/3.5L USM Macro Lens in like-new condition for the BAA record-low price of $799.00. The sale includes the front and rear lens cap, the tripod collar, the original box, the tough fabric carrying case, the lens hood (ET-78), and insured ground shipping via major courier to lower 48 US addresses only. Photos are available upon request. Your item will not ship until your check clears unless other arrangements are made.

Please contact Alan via e-mail.

The Canon 180 Macro was my mainstay macro lens for more than a decade. I love the extra reach that it provides over the various 100mm macro lenses. And, assuming that you will be working on a tripod, the Canon EF Extender 1.4X is perfectly compatible. The lens is great for flowers, bugs, butterflies, frogs, toads, and snakes among lots more. The lens, that is still in production, sells new for $1,399.00. You can save a smooth $600 on Alan’s practically like-new lens. artie

Money Saving Reminder

If you need a hot photo item that is out of stock at B&H, would enjoy free overnight shipping, and would like a $50 discount on your first purchase, click here to order and enter the coupon code BIRDSASART at checkout. If you are looking to strike a deal on Canon or Nikon gear (including the big telephotos) or on a multiple item order, contact Steve Elkins via e-mail or on his cell at (479) 381-2592 (Eastern time) and be sure to mention your BIRDSASART coupon code and use it for your online order. Steve currently has several D850s in stock along with a Nikon 600mm f/4 VR. He is getting folks the hot new SONY stuff: the 200-600, the 600 f/4 GM, and the 7R iv. And the wait-list is short for the Nikon 500 P.

Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

Focus on Frogs by Andrew McLachlan

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan: $50.00 via electronic download

To order your copy, click here.

As you can clearly see while checking out Andrew’s amazing frog and toad images in this blog post, you will realize that his work might well appear with the credit line reading Andrew McLachlan/FROGS AS ART. That Andrew has worked long and very hard at his craft is quite evident. That Andrew has mastered the use of the gear needed for macro photography is quite evident. That Andrew has perfected the use of electronic flash for both daytime and night-time frog photography is quite evident. That Andrew is creative and has a great eye for image design and color is quite evident. That Andrew has an understanding of how important backgrounds are in nature photography is quite evident. And that Andrew has developed all the skills needed to create outstanding images of frogs and toads – both captive and in their natural habitats, is also quite evident. In short, Andrew is the Frog Whisperer.

Focus on Frogs is a comprehensive guide to photographing frogs and toads. In the wild; in the tropics; in home-made terrariums; and at set-ups. Andrew covers it all: camera systems, bodies, and lenses (of all focal lengths!), the use of polarizers and graduated ND filters, how to dress for frog photography, the essentials accessories that will save you time and money, the use of flash, keeping you and your gear safe, in-the-field tips and techniques, finding the best perspective, Photoshop tips and techniques, frog conservation concerns, all aspects of froggy habitats, getting the right exposure, frog biology and behavior, creating attractive set-ups, over-under frog photography, and artistic renderings. The book ends with a spectacular Webfoot Gallery to inspire you.

Image #1: Bullfrog in wetland/approaching storm

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

Who would have thought of using a wide-angle (or even a fish-eye) lens for frog photography? Andrew used a Singh Ray 2-Stop Graduated Neutral Density Filter to hold back the sky.

Image #2: Over-under photo of a juvenile Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeiana)

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

Andrew created this super-creative over-under image of a juvenile Bullfrog in a homemade aquarium that he built to serve as a temporary set-up. He used the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens.

Image #3: Budgett’s Frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) – captive

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

It is hard to believe that Budgett’s Frog is not a cartoon character! Andrew used the hand held Nikon D800, the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens the Nikon SB-400 Speedlight (Refurbished), and the Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket. ISO 100. f/22 @ 1/60 sec.

Image #4: Atelopus sp Limon (Limon Harlequin Frog) — captive

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

This frog is critically endangered and found only near Limon, Ecuador. This image was created with the Nikon D500, the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens and the Nikon SB400 Speedlight on a Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket. ISO 100. f/22 @ 1/60 sec.

Image #5: American Toad (Bufo americanus) with vocal sac inflated while chorusing in a vernal pond at night

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

To create this image Andrew used the hand held Nikon D800, the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens the Nikon SB-400 Speedlight (Refurbished), and the Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket. ISO 100. f/16 @ 1/60 sec. I love the expanded blue sac and the bubbles.

Image #6: Gliding Leaf Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) – captive

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

This captive Gliding Leaf Frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) image was created with the hand held Nikon D800, the Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens the Nikon SB-400 Speedlight (Refurbished), and the Wimberley F-2 Macro Bracket. ISO 100. f/22 @ 1/60 sec.

Image #7: Johnstone’s Whistling Frog with Fractalius treatment applied

Focus on Frogs. Text & Photography by Andrew McLachlan

For the original, Andrew used the Nikon D800, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens, Nikon SB-400 Speedlight (Refurbished), and the Canon 77mm 500D Close-up lens. Adding the 500D to an intermediate telephoto lens turns it into a macro lens with no loss of quality. ISO 100, f22 @ 1/60 sec. I am pretty sure that Fractalius is Windows only.

If In Doubt …

If in doubt about using the BAA B&H affiliate link correctly, you can always start your search by clicking here. Please note that the tracking is invisible. Web orders only. Please, however, remember to shoot me your receipt via e-mail.

Please Remember to use my Affiliate Links and to Visit the BAA Online Store 🙂

To show your appreciation for my continuing efforts here, we ask, as always, that you get in the habit of using my B&H affiliate links on the right side of the blog for all of your photo and electronics purchases. Please check the availability of all photographic accessories in the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store, especially the Mongoose M3.6 tripod head, Wimberley lens plates, Delkin flash cards and accessories, and LensCoat stuff.

As always, we sell only what I have used, have tested, and can depend on. We will not sell you junk. We know what you need to make creating great images easy and fun. And please remember that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail.

I would, of course, appreciate your using our B&H affiliate links for all of your major gear, video, and electronic purchases. For the photographic stuff mentioned in the paragraph above, and for everything else in the new store, we, meaning BAA, would of course greatly appreciate your business. Here is a huge thank you to the many who have been using our links on a regular basis and those who will be visiting the New BIRDS AS ART Online Store as well.

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Typos

In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).