When looking for these little guys I look everywhere. They have the ability to hang where you least expect one. More than once I’ve had one jump on me.
The toe of an Anole has long curved claws, the pad of the toes have deep ridges that grip most anything. I wonder… do I have any close shots of their feet ?
I always try to catch a shot of an Anole staring right into the camera, eye contact. Like below.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 12-100, Godox iT32 flash, Lightroom.
Taken at the Port Royal rookery, in what is a thick and tangled swamp area. Just what the Yellow-crowns like, and photographers hate.
You spend as much time looking for open holes through the tress as you do finding the birds. Below was shot through one of those small open views.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom.
When I focused in close I realized just how sharp these leaves are.
This is not a place an Anole wants to make a random jump.
This is a pretty common shot here with the big Herons.
The trails through this local swamp are tight, wind around the waters edge, and have a few sharp turns. This leads to accidental meetings, up close.
Neither knows what’s going to happen, so both just keep walking. Minimal eye contact is the trick. You can, like here, get a quick shot, just keep going.
No eye contact works more than you would think. It’s for birds and animals, yes even Alligators.
Best viewed large.
Going right up the bamboo. In an instant he can be hidden in the vines and I would never see him. As often as not these lizards will jump as soon as they see me. I may raise the camera, chances are I won’t even get a chance to focus.
No big story here. This is from a ‘one of many’.
In this case a hawk that dropped down nearby while in the swamp. The never take just one rule applied here. So I have a nice collection of this bird, from multiple angles.
If you give a Red-shoulder space while they’re hunting you can usually get plenty of shots.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 ll, Lightroom.
While we tend to refer to them as ‘Green Guys’, their official name is the Carolina Anole. They’re not always green either. This one is looking a bit ‘chunky’.
This summer they have been an easy subject to shoot, adding to that keeping the Godox IT32 flash just about glued to the camera made evening or darker place shooting simple.
Specs; OM-1 (1), OM 12-100, Godox iT32 flash, Lightroom, DxO Silver Efex.
One of the nice things about being in a place with many birds and activity is you can step back and (try) to pick and choose your shots. These shots are just that.
I was standing on the edge of this swamp area just watching small herons and egrets wandering the brush and fishing the swamp.
This Little Blue didn’t seem to like the clutter. He would take a step, flap around, deep breath, and try again. I grabbed a few shots because these birds should be seasoned hunters, not prima donnas. 🤣
