Bullfrog Among Lily Pads on Horseshoe Lake
Nikon D800 (with 1.5 sensor crop activated), Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens
ISO 800, f8 @ 1/60 sec
Without a doubt my most often go-to lens for Bullfrog in the wetland on Horseshoe Lake is my Sigma 15mm f2.8 EX DG Fisheye Lens, and more often than not I select the Nikon D800’s 1.5 sensor crop when creating these images. By selecting the 1.5 sensor crop I am effectively using a 22mm fisheye lens with a close focusing distance of 5.5 inches. The close focusing capabilities of the Sigma 15mm Fisheye lens are hard to beat when it comes to creating these Bullfrog portraits. To view a larger selection of my fisheye imagery on the Sigma Canada website please click here.
Please remember to click on the images to see the larger, sharper version.
Your usual brilliant work, Andrew. Was this hand-held?
Thanks so much Frank….yes this was handheld, from the canoe using the Live View feature on the Nikon D800.
Very nice work, Andrew. One of your best articles. I think I might get this lens myself. Did you use any flash on the bull frogs or just ambient light?
Very much appreciated Walt…this image was created using ambient light on an over – cast day.
Great shot but I wonder how you get close enough without spooking the frog.
Thanks Stephen…a slow and careful approach without any suddenly movements usually gets me into close proximity to these Bullfrogs…or they are so accustomed to my presence that they don’t dive to the bottom š
Andrew, thanks again for your article. I am thinking about doing some shooting like this and was considering the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED lens instead of the Sigma Fisheye lens. Do you think this Nikon 20mm lens would work for these kind of shots. Also, have you written other articles about how you shoot from a canoe, if so I’d like to read these articles as well.
Hi Walt, the Nikon 20mm would likely work well for these images as well as it focuses down to 0.66 feet and also allows you the option of adding a polarizing filter, which can be beneficial in the wetlands to reduce the glare from lily pad leaves. My Nikon lens of choice for these frog images is often the new version of the 18-35mm…I am partial to the convenience of zoom lenses š My technique for shooting from the canoe will be discussed in detail in the frog ebook that I am currently writing, but most often I am using Live View and holding the camera down low at the water’s surface (often the lens hood is poking into the water…yikes!)
Thanks for the additional information. Please let me know when your frog ebook is ready to order, I can’t wait to read it. Maybe after I see more about your canoe technique I can get my courage up to try my Native Fly Fishing Kayak which I bought because of how stable it is supposed to be.
Thanks Walt and will do š