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Warty little friend (52)
sAner
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1490 W: 72 N: 1427]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (4744) | When my girlfriend and I visited Oostvaardersplassen in Flevoland we encountered this lovely Toad. Quickly I lay flat down on my belly and took this picture.
Oostvaardersplassen is a vast area, consisting partly of swamps. Large parts of the Netherlands used to look like Oostvaardersplassen about 100 a 200 years ago.
From Wikipedia.org, the free encyclopedia.
The true toads are amphibians in the Bufonidae family. A number of species in other families of Amphibia are commonly referred to as toads. This is because the characteristics that are popularly used to distinguish frogs from toads are not quite the same as those used for scientific classification.
The type species of the family Bufonidae is the Common toad, Bufo bufo, and around it cluster a large number of species of the same genus, and some smaller genera. B. bufo is a tailless amphibian of stout build, with a warty skin, and any animal that shares these characteristics is liable to be called a toad, regardless of its location in formal taxonomy.
The life cycle of a toad involves several stages. Typically adult toads gather in suitable pools, the first to arrive usually being the males. Their croaking may well encourage the females to arrive. A female would wish to avoid arriving at a pond which did not have any males in attendance. Gravid female toads are actively and persistently sought out by males and many males will often try to attach themselves to a single female. This can result in very large masses of toads all clinging to each other with one female at the centre. Such agglomerations of toads can be the size of a soccer ball. Eventually one male will secure solitary possession. Amplexus is the process wherein the male grasps the female while she lays her eggs. At the same time, he fertilizes them with a fluid containing sperm. The dark brown eggs are about 2.0 to 2.8 millimetres in diameter and are covered in an outer shell of gelatinous transparent aterioal which swells in contact with water. The eggs, known as toadspawn hatch into tadpoles or toadpoles. Toads lay their eggs in long strings, forming double files in straight, jelly-like tubes. Typically, tadpoles are herbivores, feeding mostly on algae, whereas juvenile and adult toads are carnivores. Most toads eat worms, insects and a range of small invertebrates. The majority of their diet is of terrestrial origin. They hunt mostly at night.
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You may hit me as hard as you can! Seriously; just write what you think, positive or negative. I can use the lesson and I can really take the criticism. Thank you very much for taking the time to look at and criticize my photo. It is highly appreciated!
Shutter Speed: 1/640
F-stop: f/8.0
Focal length: 300mm
ISO Speed: 400
White Balance Mode: Daylight
AF Mode: AI Focus AF
Weather Condition: Clear & Sunny
Time: 13:03:54
Tripod: no
Flash: no |
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| Altered Image #1
sAner
(4744)
2 minute WS
Edited by:liquidsunshine
(11494) |
Hi Pieter,
there is nothing wrong with your shot, I just wanted to share this quick process with you.
PSCS..
USM 100, 0.5, 0
brightness -10, contrast +5
Shadow 50, highlight 40
the run through neat image to remove any noise created.
I hope you like the results, it does give the image a bit more.
Have a good week my friend,
Best regards,
Alan. |
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