Tag Archives: reptile

August 1, 2015 · 7:44 am

A Canon 5DS, A 100mm Macro Lens, and an Anole Lizard in Southeast Texas

I recently splurged and purchased a Canon 5DS (50 mp, baby!) and Canon 100mm f2.8L macro lens. I’m trying to regain the photo mojo I feel I’ve lost since my mother’s death this past February. Her passing, plus being stuck in southeast Texas for the hot, humid summer, has enervated my photographic instincts. So, when I saw a couple of anole lizards having sex on the wall next to the back door of my mother’s house, I trotted back to my apartment (I live next door) to grab camera and lens to capture the moment (yeah, lizard porn). By the time I returned to the house, the two had gone their separate ways. I instead, turned my camera onto this little lizard trying to blend in with the black, rust and green colors on the wrought-iron fence.

Anole lizards are beautiful little creatures anywhere from 2″ – 6″ in length, from snout to tail tip. Normally, they are a brilliant, almost-neon, green hue. But, when they feel threatened (and who wouldn’t if a large camera and lens combo was bearing down you), they change color like a chameleon to blend in with the surroundings.

I haven’t used my new camera or new lenses (yes, plural) much … yet … but this is a start. I am blown away by the detail this latest Canon addition provides. Not the fastest thing on the market concerning fps (frames per second), but the shutter click is much quieter than the 5D Mk II (and definitely quieter than the 1DX), and has a really nice feel to it. It does take up more space on the memory card, so I’ll have to invest in a few with more GB (32, 128). But, from what I have seen thus far out of my camera, it’s all worth it.

Can’t wait to try it out when I travel to Santa Fe, NM for the long Labor Day holiday weekend in September.

1 Comment

Filed under 5DS, Canon, Equipment, lizard, macro

Tagged as 100mm, 5DS, anole, Canon, lens, lizard, macro, photography, Rebecca Latson Photography, reptile, Texas, TX

June 4, 2014 · 6:24 pm

Reptilian Reminder

Just a little reminder that the Chihuahuan desert can be a dangerous place. I was driving toward the Chisos Mountains and noticed ahead of me what looked like a traffic jam. As I got closer, I noticed the truck was a National Park Service truck. I drove slowly and glanced to the right side of the road to see one very angry snake lunging at my car as I passed by (look at the lower left of this photo).

In my single-minded pursuit to photograph the beauty of the park, this was a reminder to me to be ever-observant of the more venomous side of the desert.

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Filed under Big Bend, National Parks, snake, Travel, wildlife

Tagged as Big Bend, Chihuahuan, desert, National Park, photography, rattlesnake, Rebecca Latson Photography, reptile, road, snake, Texas, TX

October 12, 2012 · 7:25 pm

International Amity

For the past month, now, I’ve been going over to Mom’s house (I live next door to her) every afternoon upon coming home from work. I’ve been changing out the hummingbird feeders since I don’t want my 87-year old mother getting up high on the step stool to do this herself. Instead, Mom makes the nectar solution.

So this afternoon, after a short visit with Mom, I was walking out the door and looked directly across toward one of the feeders, to see an unusual sight: a bright green Anole lizard sitting on the feeder, lapping up the nectar. Southeast Texas has a lot of these pretty little things, so I shouldn’t have been too surprised. But this was the first time I’d ever seen anything like this.

A few seconds later, a little hummingbird perched itself at the feeder and started sipping from the same siphon. International Amity….for a moment.

Shortly after the photo above, the Anole turned around and started crawling up the feeder, only to be buzzed by other hummers more than happy to send the lizard packing. While buzzing the lizard, they would alternately buzz each other. Sooooo territorial.

I titled this photo “Righteous Indignation” Winking smile

4 Comments

Filed under hummingbirds, Humor, lizard, Photography, Texas

Tagged as 70-200mm, anole, bird, bright green, Canon, hummingbird, hummingbirds, lizard, Rebecca Latson Photography, reptile, Texas, wildlife

August 8, 2012 · 5:59 pm

Changing Colors, Part II

My previous post showed a couple of close-ups of an anole lizard I photographed while watching it change colors. These next three photos show the same thing, but in a little more detail.

Taken with a Canon 5D Mk II camera with a 70-200mmL f2.8 II lens.

Green on Green:

Beginning the Gradual Color Change:

Color Change Complete:

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Filed under lizard, Photography

Tagged as anole, changing color, color change, gold, green, lizard, photography, red, reptile, rust, Texas, TX, wildlife

August 7, 2012 · 5:33 pm

Changing Colors

From this:

To this:

I was walking downstairs from my apartment to go get the mail. I saw a brilliant neon-green anole lizard skittering along the wrought-iron hand railing. I thought to myself what a neat photo that would make, the bright green lizard lined up on the black iron railing. For a split second, I thought of running back to get my camera, but figured the lizard would be gone upon my return. So I went ahead and got my mail, noticing the anole had hopped onto a spikey leaf of the squat tree next to the stairs. I figured, what the heck, I’d get my camera and if the lizard was gone, no big deal.

The pretty little guy was still there, so I happily took a bunch of photos. As I was doing so, golden-rust-red spots appeared on its skin, gradually changing from its original bright green coloration to the saturated olive green-gold-rust red you see in the photo above.

I used my Canon 5D Mk II camera with the 70-200L f2.8 II telephoto lens. These two photos are approximately 100% crops of the originals.

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Filed under lizard, Photography

Tagged as anole, changing color, color change, gold, green, lizard, photography, red, reptile, Texas, TX

March 19, 2012 · 7:03 pm

Eyes On You!

Here’s a testament to a full-frame camera and a good telephoto lens that allows for a decent crop.

I took a break from working on the rodeo photos for my previous blog to travel out to Brazos Bend State Park. Wildflowers, birdlife, and quite a few alligators.

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Filed under alligators, Brazos Bend State Park, Photography, wildlife

Tagged as alligator, Brazos Bend State Park, close up, eyes, photography, reptile, Texas, TX

March 2, 2012 · 5:24 pm

Holy Anole! Brilliant Green!

I was walking toward the back door of my apartment, tired and grumpy as usual from my day at work and the long commute home, when I caught a brilliant flash of bright green from the corner of my eye. I looked toward my window and saw a beautiful brilliant green lizard called an Anole against the glass. These little reptiles are abundant all through my part of southeast Texas; I see lots of them in my mother’s backyard.

I stood there staring at it, and when the little guy didn’t move, I thought to myself: photo op! So I fumbled around for my keys, unlocked the door and carefully entered making sure the door didn’t slam and scare away the anole. I grabbed my camera, turned it on, made sure a flashcard was installed, then went back outside. Pointed the camera toward the lizard…..took the lens cap off then pointed the camera at the lizard again, and fired off a number of shots. The anole was very obliging, bless its heart.

I used my all-purpose 24-105mm lens, and although it is not a macro, it did a nice job with the close-ups, and my full-frame Canon allowed for some decent resolution after the crops.

6 Comments

Filed under lizard, Photography

Tagged as anole, green, image, lizard, photograph, photography, reptile