Fall Toad

Well, it's still only July, but the late summer/early fall wildflowers are starting to bloom, and the leaves are changing color...  (Well, the leaves on at least one stressed black gum anyway...).

This southern toad was hopping around the yard when I got home yesterday, and the moss and leaves looked so nice that I had to get out the camera & lay on the wet ground... ;)

Southern Toad on a Bed of Moss with Fallen Black Gum Leaves

Nikon D300s, Dine 105 mm, f/5.6, 1/200th second, ISO 800, handheld, exisiting light, slight crop.

Fire-bellied Toad

Here's a shot of a fire-bellied toad from last week. 

I put the little guy on a mirror with some black foam core supported over the mirror to give me a black background & reflection, and then I lit it with a ring-flash.

Fire-bellied Toad on a Mirror

Nikon D300s, Dine 105 mm, f/22, 1/25th second, ISO 800, tripod, ringflash as main light, slight crop.

This is a waterfall in Dogwood Canyon just South of Branson, Mo.
Jeff Impey

After  watching the Gator Boys wrestling show for the third time I was convinced that I could wrestle an alligator. After getting some valuable tips from the Gator Boys stars, Paul and Jimmy I mustered up my courage and set out to wrestle a real live alligator. After a lengthy struggle I was able to get the subject to submit to my will and I proceeded to secure his mouth for safety just like they do on TV. Below is a picture with me and the wild beast. I can now mark this off of my bucket list of things to do before I die. Wrestling an alligator is now officially checked off. Jeff Impey

Fourth of July Fireworks

The fireworks shows to celebrate our nation's declaration of independence were just great earlier this week.  I hope that all of the folks shooting & enjoying the fireworks took a moment to reflect on what we were celebrating and the immense sacrifices that have been made for our nation to prosper for so long.

Biloxi Fourth of July Fireworks - shot from a barge near Deer Island

I know some of the rest of y'all were out & about with cameras, so post a few of yours too!

Gator Boys at the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch

I sure enjoyed seeing the other photographers last Saturday when we went to photograph the Gator Boys at the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch.  For me, the conditions were tough with the bright light and crowded venue.

The Gator Boys did a great job of providing factual information about alligators during their show, and it was interesting to watch the film crew do their jobs as well.  When the videographers were between me and the action, I figured that I'd picked a pretty good light angle...  And since I couldn't see through them, I tried to get some shots showing the whole thing - Gator Boys & crew, film crew, & crowd...

I went back for another show in the afternoon & got on the opposite side from the film crew...  I sure wish that I could have been inside the chainlink fence too!

My 5-year old daughter is a HUGE Gator Boys fan, and she got this portrait of Jimmy Riffle using one of my old D-70 bodies with a kit lens...

And my wife got a neat "alligator in habitat" shot out in the marshlands while we were there...

I went back Sunday morning and  took these. This gator was not going to have anything to do with this show and after being dragged out of the water to the demonstration area jumped up and said "I ain't doing this" and took off and went back into the pond. The same thing happened with two gators and the third one cooperated with Jimmy. They said today that there were about a dozen gators and one crock in the pool. The front end of the gator actually came off the ground when it opened his mouth and jumped at Jimmy.