<< Previous Next >>

The Lizard King?


The Lizard King?
Photo Information
Copyright: Adrian Warren (AdrianW) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 257 W: 185 N: 215] (710)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-07-29
Categories: Reptiles
Camera: Canon Powershot S1-IS
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/80 seconds
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Lizards - Lagartos - Lézards, Reptiles - Lizards, Chuckwallas, Agamas & Tegus 1 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-08-03 5:52
Viewed: 7594
Points: 26
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Common or Viviparous Lizard (Lacerta vivipara)

Probably the most common reptile in the UK, the Common Lizard is a widely variable species - this particular specimen is olive green, but most of the others we saw that day were either brown or grey.

The Viviparous Lizard is so called because it's one of the few reptiles to give birth to live young - most lay eggs. That said, at the colder extremes of it's range the Viviparous Lizard has been known to lay eggs too!

This particular individual was about 15cm from snout to the end of the tail - large for the species, the smallest was only about 4cm. In the UK it's fairly easy to differentiate between the lizard species - mainly because we only have two! The Sand Lizard is bigger and stockier.

Thursley Common is unusual in that it's a designated NNR (national nature reserve) and an SSSI (site of special scientific interest). The name Thursley is apparently derived from the "Sacred grove of Thunor". In case you're wondering Thunor is the Anglo-Saxon equivalent of the Norse god Thor :)

According to my brother I'm an idiot, and I'm inclined to agree - why? Well, I took all my dSLR kit out with us - two flashguns, four lenses and everything else - only when we opened the bag to take a shot did we discover what I'd forgotten to pack - the dSLR itself ;) Hence this was taken with the S1-IS.

Taken at 50ASA
ellis49, carper, PDP, zto, gerhardt, japie, AndyB, Robbrown, Esox, Luc has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekNature members may write critiques.
Discussions
None
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

Great image.
Very sharp ,good colors and a very good note.
Well done

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2004-08-03 6:04]

Great shot Adrian, You've captured the shineyness of scales well, colours are subtle and clear. I like the compostion too. Informative note. Funny story about the dSLR too :-)

very Nice one Adrian,
Good from sharpness, good colours and very good cropping. Very nice job.

  • Great 
  • zto Silver Star Critiquer [C: 36 W: 6 N: 0] (0)
  • [2004-08-03 6:19]

LOL. Sorry for laughing i just cant help recognizing myself in your note there. Reminds me of when i went out to shoot my Anemone at TL. I went out with this idea in my head brought a bag full of spray botles and reflectors and, you name it...only i forgott the tripod so i couldn't really do what i had set my mind to hehe. So i was feeling like an idiot ;)

About your photo, well it is great as usual. Sharp, good exposure. I would have loved to see the tail but then we would not see it as close. The detilas of the skin is very nice. i wonder if it is a tiny tiny bit to dark in some parts though. On the other hand, lihtning it may cause some parts to be blown out, like the tip of the nose...better leave it as it is ;)

You live and learn ;-))
Excellently sharp, clear and detailled capture of this lizard and with very good DOF, too.

Wow...so beautiful, Adrian!! looks like "Robocop-lizard" cause of it "steel look" scames ;))) Truly great capture!

Hi Adrian
When I saw the thumbnail and the caption, I thought Komodo dragon. Difficult guys to nail since they are too long to fit properly into the frame. I tried a small WS, just to see if I could tweak something from him.

Another stunner. Very nice work you did. I love the way it looks up at me. I can almost feel the scales. Great note too. Thanx for sharing.

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1366 W: 32 N: 1351] (3982)
  • [2004-08-03 17:11]

A beautifully detailed shot.
Great skin texture and colour with a very good DoF.
Good composition and framing,a great note too!

Nice to see one of our few native reptiles captured so well, so much detail and all with your 2nd best camera, nice one
Note is very good too

  • Great 
  • Esox Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 239 W: 20 N: 344] (972)
  • [2004-08-05 12:22]

A nice one.
Very sharp shot.
Good composition.
Just one thing, light is a little low.
But we can't control weather ;-).
This lizard is common in the north of France, too.
Well done.

  • Great 
  • livios Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2150 W: 319 N: 4263] (16942)
  • [2004-12-26 21:44]

Adrian, I do like these guys.

Great shot here. Excellent sharpness to show off the animal.

P.S.: I've been having some serious problems regarding my connection. If I "disappear", be sure I'll be back to check your photos as soon as possible.

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1835 W: 301 N: 4287] (14767)
  • [2006-04-28 19:57]

... to separate us.
Luc

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF