You don’t need to jump on a flight to Costa Rica or Brazil to get wonderful photos of exotic frog species. Angi Wallace, an award-winning photographer from Newcastle, reveals her creative but compassionate ‘home made’ approach.
‘I started keeping reptiles and frogs about 20 years ago, and immediately wanted to take photos of them, but I didn’t have time and I wasn’t a photographer back then,’ Angi explains from her home in Newcastle.
‘I also got diagnosed with ME about 20 years ago, which gave me more time. I stopped keeping reptiles around eight years ago, so now I just take photographs of frogs.’
Understanding frog behaviour
When it comes to taking good photos of frogs, Angi reckons the most important thing is to understand their behaviour. ‘Some frogs will only feel safe if they have a branch or something to sit on… Others like to sit on a very firm base, so you need to understand their ideal environment. It’s also really important you get the temperature right, so the frogs feel comfortable. Otherwise the frogs will get stressed.’
Thinking about the best background is also really important, reckons Angi. ‘I rarely use black backgrounds, I only tend to use them if a client wants them, or I am running a workshop. I prefer different coloured backgrounds and textures, which I print out and stick to hardwood. I also sell my textures on Etsy.
As for selecting branches and bases for the frogs to sit on, I choose ones that will fit in with the overall colour scheme of the image. Sometimes I like to produce a frog image that looks like wall art, rather than something you will see in nature.
As much as I would love to go to Costa Rica to photograph red-eyed tree frogs, it’s not possible. I want to make beautiful pictures of these amazing images.’
The frog must always come first
Keeping frogs requires specialist knowledge so Angi strongly recommends talking to a specialist retailer to ensure you understand the frog’s required environment and nutritional needs. ‘You shouldn’t buy a frog just to photograph it – you need to have a real passion for keeping them.’
Angi uses a range of camera kit for her amazing frog pictures, but particularly favours the Sony Alpha A7 III with a macro lens. ‘I often use a Sigma 180mm macro lens but like the Sony 90mm macro lens too. I get better results with a longer macro lens.’
See Angi’s website, Etsy store, and Instagram page.
Frog march – Angi Wallace’s amazing frog gallery
