I was on a day off from work today, so I had more time to stroll through my favorite park. It was a very warm day and I should have known the lizards would be out, taking advantage of the sun, but they caught me by surprise. I saw a couple scurry off into the shrubery as I approached their sunning spots. I moved on, keeping an eye open for future scaly encounters. Then I turned around and spied the first lizard back out on the warm rock. Well, of COURSE I should have known he'd do that, but I'm a bit rusty in the reptile department. LOL
So I settled into a position to shoot him when he reappeared. Those two guys played hide and seek for several minutes, trading off who would hide and who would appear. I danced back and forth between two vantage points and then finally went in search of other subjects. BUT I returned before long and found the 2nd lizard posing so perfectly. I've never seen a lizard this dark here, and I had to play with processing to enhance his markings and make him more visible. Another shot I have of him shows a blue area under his chin, which should identify him as a Blue Belly/Western Fence Lizard, but I didn't realize they could be so dark. I'm going to send the photos to my reptile-friend for a better ID.
I must say, I'm very happy to be shooting something other than flowers. ;-)
Oh WOW! What an amazing shot! I love the incredible details you captured on this fella! And his little claws too! (Looks awesome viewed large) Super stellar shot my dear :)
@amandalomonaco
Nope, definitely not a gator. Those are really quite sleek and smooth, unlike the name would lead you to believe.
In fact I have a shot of a gator lizard taken in New Mexico. I'll try to get that posted before long.
Nope, definitely not a gator. Those are really quite sleek and smooth, unlike the name would lead you to believe.
In fact I have a shot of a gator lizard taken in New Mexico. I'll try to get that posted before long.