Frogs are commonly associated with witch tales and curses, and this makes us look down on them. Children are told ... "if you touch a frog, your hands will be covered with warts ..." creating a sad myth generation after generation, that promotes the contempt, abuse and annihilation of this species. Today around the world, the number of frogs is decreasing alarmingly and that must change. These beautiful beings, so important in our ecosystems, must be dignified. Through photography I seek to dignify the subjects that I portray, that they appear almost human, that their image impacts, that people fall in love with them. In my photo, my frog appears shyly on the scene, even afraid of being destroyed, hoping that we will finally start loving her. We must love all living beings, they are all masterpieces of nature that must be respected and loved as much as we love ourselves.
The missionary monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tetraploidea) is a tree frog that moves very slowly. This female was carrying the male on her back that night, that made her even slower. It only took a flash to illuminate it slightly as it moved very slowly through the vegetation. This allowed me to generate a climate of intimacy, mystery and fragility where I show her scared and scared of being seen.
This photo was taken in October 2019, in the San Sebastián de la Selva private reserve, Andresito, Misiones (NE of Argentina), one spring night when they planned to mate.
We had traveled to the north of Argentina to take pictures of animals in the jungle. That afternoon I injured an ankle, which prevented me from joining the group that went out in search of nocturnal birds and I stayed in the cabin, trying to take photos nearby, since I could not walk easily.
The shot was meant to show only part of the frog, to hint at its presence, so that it could be seen coyly peeking out of the jungle. For that, I waited for her to show her little hand in addition to showing her. That element of her made her more human, closer to us, more loved.
Post-processing was a breeze, I just raised the lights a bit to highlight the frog and gave it a bit of saturation and contrast with Lightroom.
Used camera type: NIKON D500. Specific lens: AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
