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Mediterranean Chameleon


Mediterranean Chameleon
Photo Information
Copyright: Horia Bogdan (horia) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2174 W: 220 N: 4385] (14908)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-08-09
Categories: Reptiles
Camera: Canon 400D Digital Rebel XTi, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO
Exposure: f/2.8, 1/4000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Your favorites, Reptiles - Chameleons 1 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2009-08-14 0:33
Viewed: 511
Favorites: 3 [view]
Points: 34
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Hi again fiends,

Well i couldn't wait longer with some animal shots i took in Tunisia so i'm taking a very small break from the landscapes and posting this cute fellow :)

This is a Mediterranean Chameleon - Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) - one of the little jewel i stumbled on there.
In truth, it was a local that had it and he was asking for Dinars in exchange for taking photos with it. I'm afraid that the chameleon's fate is pretty doomed, since i don't see that man letting go of it and it returning to the wild, so with this post i hereby ask you very strongly not to encourage trading with killed and framed wild reptiles - a common sight in those areas.

This Mediterranean Chameleon is found in:
Europe: S Greece (Aegean Islands, Crete, Chios, Samos), Malta, S Portugal, S Spain, S/E Turkey, Cyprus,
N Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Jordan
Western Sahara, SW Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran.

...and yes, its color varies A LOT! :)

I also managed to upload a first part of my shots from Tunisia on my website...if you want to see them before i upload them here ;)

EXIF data :
Camera: Canon 400D
Lens: Sigma 150mm f/2/8 Macro
Filter: no
Focal Length: 150mm
Shutter Speed: 1/2000 sec.
Metering Mode: Evaluative metering
Exposure Bias: 0
F-Stop: f/2.8
ISO: 200
Flash: No
Support: tripod
TOD: about 2 PM
Weather conditions: sunny
parasbhalla, Argus, xTauruSx, falke, oanaotilia, Helkoryo, thor68, siggi, Jamesp, Noisette has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Horia,

Marvellous capture of the Mediterranean Chameleon! The details are perfectly shown, with nice focus on the eye and the skin textures covering the head part. It seems that the chameleon intentionally gave such a great pose for 'you'. The colors are very natural and the sharpness is at its best. Wonderful composition!

thanks and regards,
Paras Bhalla

foarte frumoasa captura, sunt invidios...

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3833 W: 190 N: 11412] (35173)
  • [2009-08-14 2:19]

Hello Horia,
A great portrait of the Mediterranean Chameleon with perfect focusing on the eye.
I guess you were waiting for the tongue to shoot out when you had such a high shutterspeed, but the shallow DOF is effective in just emphasing the eye and mouth.
Thanks for posting this delight and have a good weekend,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • falke Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 156 W: 17 N: 458] (1682)
  • [2009-08-14 4:09]

Wow... great photo Horia. I just love the composition and the subtle colours.

Regards/Bengt

Great portrait of this different colored chamaleon with nice details.
TFS and greetings,
Deniz

Salut
Super focus pe un ochi si pe gura deschisa, detalii excelente ale pielii, claritate deosebita!Culori calde, ca nisipul Saharei: cred ca mediul lui natural e printre stanci si nisip. Fain!
Numai bine, Oana

Hell sir.
Nice photo of this mediterranean chameleon.Nicely focused and shot perfectly.
Thanks for sharing.
Regards Nihal

Hello there

Well this shot really is outstanding, he really pops out of the image in 3D your dof and lighting control is perfect here and this is going straight into my favourites. An excellent shot with interesting and informative notes too.
Thank you for sharing
Kind regards Helen

P.S.You can find me and more of my images here Perfectly Captured do come and share your images with us too.

Hi Horia
great macro with perfect dof and nice bg
tfs
tom

  • Great 
  • thor68 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 792 W: 138 N: 1312] (5642)
  • [2009-08-14 10:15]

excellent portrait of the nice chameleon! :-) terrific close-up with amazing details and wonderful lighting, the texture and
colors of the skin and the eye are awesome. superb job & best wishes, thor.

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2413 W: 94 N: 5586] (17766)
  • [2009-08-14 10:47]

Hello Horia,
Although the DOF could be bit better (or f2.8 was the intention?), this is an excellent shot. The details on mouth and eye are amazing. Perfect POV and a very nice composition. Beautiful natural colours.
Regards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1388 W: 56 N: 4794] (16480)
  • [2009-08-14 10:52]

Hello Horia,
Very nice profile-portrait of this Mediterranean Chameleon , very good focus and pleasant OOF BG my friend, TFS .Best regards Siggi

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1351 W: 0 N: 5494] (16524)
  • [2009-08-14 13:15]

Hello Horia

Great shot - I love the shallow dof - it works really well.

Best wishes

James

Hello Horia
this is a very great shot of this Chameleon, great focus on his head, the details are superb, i like especially his eye, the colors are wonderful too
thanks for sharing and have a nice sunday
Jacqueline

  • Great 
  • erve Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 90 W: 5 N: 119] (580)
  • [2009-08-17 7:36]

Hi horia,

Nice capture of this cool chameleon, just a shame it couldnt be captured free in its natural habitat.

I love the shallow depth of field as it works very well in isolating the area of interest perfectly, with superb detail and sharpness in the eye.

Cheers

Ewan

  • Great 
  • gondox Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 332 W: 63 N: 294] (1427)
  • [2009-08-17 17:08]

Hi Horia!

Missed this one when posted but have to say it's simply amazing.. The bit sidal pov is superb, And so much details in light colored animals always gets my best appreciation.. TFS! Oh, and favorite for me.. :)

Best regards,
Andor

Hi Horia,
That's a very cool shot. I like its yellow color since it suits your trip to the dessert. The expression is beautifully captured with excellent details and a very interesting shallow DOF. Although a bit more would have been nice.
It is a pitty to read that in those countries animals are still used to make money of tourist. I do hope that their attitude will change soon but hope even more that tourist will stop paying them.
TFS,
Niek

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