To run or not … I like to catch lizards in one of such postures. This was a tense moment for it as it assessed the threat. Armed with a contrast detection auto-focus system, I had to move very slowly lest it got spooked and ran away before I could take a shot.
This was one popular photo spots at the flora show so I had to make short work of the capture; quickly set exposure compensation, composed and shot before anyone walked into the frame.
The sky in the original capture was mostly a white sheet. In post, the lower landscape was assigned to a new layer before the sky was darkened. The lake was also correspondingly darkened.
There are quite a good number of dark corners and undergrowth in the conservatories that provide convenient backdrops for our flora photography.
The subject of their interest was out of our line of sight so we could only guess what it could’ve been; a metre-long (a little over a yard) clouded monitor lizard that we had on a few previous occasions seen sunning itself on the walking path around the same spot.
Found this in a corner of the conservatory where plants would temporarily be held after each show before they were sent out.
This was taken against the shady interior of a shelter and underexposed by a stop to retain highlight details.
This palm could apparently grow up to 18 metres in height (about 60 feet) but this particular one seemed content to curl around on the ground.
The impact might just have been better if this could be taken from a low angle but the dragonfly was lower than our path and out over the water.
Helluva Times 