My 2013 EOY post (56 images)

[croteseeker]

Well, I've recently finished going through and editing my favorite photos of this year's herping. Since I've noticed that my moving photos around has resulted in most of the threads from this year not having any photos to go along with them, I figured I'd post an EOY report for 2013. Some of these photos you may have seen before. Others, probably not. Either way, this is a collection of some of my favorite finds of the past year, so I hope you guys enjoy. In a departure from my normal style of posting photos, I'll spare you the commentary and just get right in to the good stuff. Feel free to ask any questions that you may have about these photos and I'll try to answer them all in turn.

First for the amphibs...

Green Frog (Rana clamitans) 2013 lifer




Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) 2013 lifer




Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri) 2013 lifer


American Toad (Bufo americanus) 2013 lifer




Garden Slender Salamander (Batrachoseps major major) 2013 lifer






Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) 2013 lifer




Some turtles...

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) 2013 lifer


Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) 2013 lifer








A few lizards...

Western Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus variegatus)


San Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx variegatus abbotti) 2013 lifer


Great Basin Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longpipes) 2013 lifer


Granite Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus orcutti) 2013 lifer


San Diego Alligator Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata webbii) 2013 lifer




And, finally, the snakes...

San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) 2013 lifer




Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) 2013 lifer






Red Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber)




Eastern Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) 2013 lifer






DeKay's Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) 2013 lifer






Northern Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata) 2013 lifer




Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis) 2013 lifer


Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum) 2013 lifer






And, just for fun, some habitat shots...





























Well, that's it for 2013, guys. Not much diversity, but a ton of lifers. Hope you all had as good a year as I did. Thanks for looking.

[Lillypod]

Very nice!

[croteseeker]

Thank you very much.

[froot]

I love the reptile shots with habitat and weather in the background, will definitely try some of those. Thanks for sharing.

[croteseeker]

Thanks, Froot. I can't yet afford the kind of camera that I would like so I've been forced to play with angles, lighting, and editing in order to get photos that I really like. The photos you were referring to are some of the most difficult to make look good with my current rig. I think those kind of shots would turn out much better if I could get more depth-of-field and maybe even a polarizing filter. When I finally do invest in a DSLR, I'll be sure to post photos of that particular learning experience.

[Bushviper]

Looks like this was your year for finding some species for the first time. Great photos. Thanks for posting them here.

[croteseeker]

Thanks, BV. It's been different, that's for sure.

[Westley Price]

Great finds and pictures.

That picture of the toad in shallow water is great!

The habitat looks spectacular! Thanx for posting.

[bitis keeper]

Thanks so much for sharing your finds and awesome photography with us corteseeker

[croteseeker]

Westley, that toad, believe it or not, is actually in about a meter of running water. He's doing much the same thing that I am in this photo: hanging on tight and trying like hell not to let go.

BitisKeeper, I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for your kind reply.

I'm sure that next year will bring lots of new species for me to find here in Michigan. Nothing to compare to African herping, but probably still cool enough that I'll share some photos. Meanwhile, it's wintertime for us, so I'm stuck dreaming of herping in the Southern Hemisphere. (That's where this site really comes in handy: dealing with wintertime blues. )