Reptiles

Good shots of turtles were hard to come by in this competition. I loved this one in particular because the turtle has personality. The closeness of the shot provides the viewer with great detail of its skin. And since its mouth is wide open, great detail of its tongue too. It looks like it is yelling at something just off camera. Really cool picture.

I knew this one would be in my top ten from the moment I first saw it. There's so much personality. Even your title says it, "I see you!" It looks as if it is pushing the leaf aside in order to look at you as you take the picture. It's very hard to get so close to a subject and maintain clarity. Seeing the texture of its scales and the spikes coming over its eyes is very cool. Great shot!

What a unique perspective. Love the detail of the lizard and the different perspective than what most of the entries were. I love the spread of the toes and you can tell that it is gripping the surface it is standing on. The photo didn't quite make my top 10, but I really love the shot. Great job!

There were quite a few chameleons submitted for this contest, but this one stood out to me specifically because of the left arm reaching forward. It gives the chameleon personality, as if it is saying, "Maybe I can move over here without the big eye noticing me." I love the teal color against the dark background and dark branches. It really makes the reptile stand out. You also did a great job of filling the frame. The empty space doesn't detract from the focus of the shot. Great job!

First of all, thank you so much for the story you gave about the water dragon. So engaging! I love this photo for several reasons. First, you captured nature intermixing with a man-made (furthest from nature) object. There were very few photos like this in the competition...very creative! Second, I agree with you...those little lizards are extremely fast, so good on you for capturing the photo. Third, the way the tire is framed in the photo is an excellent backdrop to the lizard climbing on it. Great photo!

I love this shot! The clarity, the position of the subject, the use of space, etc. I love its fingers wrapping around the branch. I love that the branch sort of blends in with the background. I love that the background isn't discernible. Overall, this is a phenomenal shot!

It's so hard to capture shots like this. You have to be extremely patient. I especially love how the snake is paying attention to something else while the middle of its body chokes the life out of the bird. Very cool!

I really like the contrast between the light colored croc vs. the dark water. It really makes the croc pop out. I also love the reflection. The water is so perfectly still that you captured the croc in the reflection nearly as clear as the croc itself. Great job!

What a unique perspective, especially within this contest. The light not only gives the gecko a luminescence that gives a stark contrast against the background, but it also allows you to see literally through the gecko. How cool and very creative! I also love how the fingers on each hand and foot are completely spread out. It looks like it is very gingerly taking steps, not really sure where it is and what kind of surface it is on. Awesome shot!

This is a great shot. It gives the lizard personality. Is it doing pull-ups? Is it hanging on for dear life? Is it going to fall? Ultimately, the shot produced an emotion for me as the viewer and made me want to know what happened to the lizard. Great shot!

I don't know how long you had to sit and wait for a shot like this! How cool to see the lizard's tongue fully extended at its dinner. The reptile and the bug are both in focus with the trees in background out of focus. It would have been better if the lizard and bug didn't blend in to the background so well. However, there's not much you can do about that. I'm very impressed with this shot!

I love this shot of the iguana. Its claws barely visible in the foreground on the log is very cool. And how the iguana is looking around toward the camera at a slight angle is perfect. So neat to see the details of its scales too. Very cool shot!

I don't know how on earth you captured this shot. What a cool action shot out in nature! I would have loved to see more of the snake to see its patterns and length. But in all honesty, that's not something you can think about when you are capturing what you captured...great great shot!

In all honesty, there were so many great iguana shots that there could have been several of them in this 9th spot. However, I selected this one in particular because I love the use of the empty space, coming in from the middle of the frame with a peek of the iguana to its right towards the camera. It's almost a nod to the photographer to say, "I got you."

I really like the contrast between the yellow and the orange/red. Plus, the way the snake is wrapped around the branch with its head up is very cool. The way the picture is taken, I can't tell how big or small the snake is and what it is wrapped around. Very cool shot.

This nearly made my top 10. I really love it! I love the focus on the head, how it's looking up, and standing up on its legs. I really love the fingers on the front two hands. One of them has two fingers crossed and the other hand has the fingers bent in a sort of fist. I love that kind of detail.

I absolutely love this shot and I hate that I couldn't fit it into my top 20. The lizard has so much personality as it seems to lift itself up on the post. It seems to have a sense of confidence, with its head held high. I love the depth of field with the shot making the lizard the sole focus of the shot. Great picture!

I love taking pictures of American alligators. This croc looks so much like the American alligator, and it appears that they behave similarly. You can tell that you captured this shot as it was entering the water as the back leg and front leg are a bit blurry. But it's such a cool shot, showcasing the size of the reptile as compared to its surroundings.

There were very few shots of reptiles with non-nature surroundings, like this one. I love how you captured the gecko climbing the back of the shoe. The depth of field makes the shoes look enormous while the lizard is a normal size. As if we were all shrunk down to its size.

Your title of the photo isn't far off! Its eyes look demonic! But how cool is it that you captured the gecko's natural camouflage. It truly has blended in to the rocks around it. I love how you brought the camera down to its level. It looks as if it is sneaking up on the camera, trying to check it out. Very cool picture!!!

I love this shot! It nearly made my top 10. The cherry gives perspective of the size of the lizard. And then to see the lizard taking a lick of the cherry, which I know to be very tasty, gives me insight into what the lizard must be feeling, "Mmmm...this is so good!"