Today it is Frogs - Forget Fur, Fin, Feathers, and Fuzzies

American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
Rouge River Bird Observatory, MI - May 2017
Nikon D500 + 500mm f/4, 1/1600 sec at f/6.3, ISO 800


American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
Rouge River Bird Observatory, MI - May 2017
Nikon D500 + 500mm f/4 and 1.7x tc, 1/2000 sec at f/6.7, ISO 4000


Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus)
Ft. Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore - August 2012
Nikon D500 + 300mm f/2.8 and 1.7x tc, 1/320 sec at f/8, ISO 1600


David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.