Anguis Fragilis... by vignouse

Anguis Fragilis...

... better known as either Slow Worm or Blind Worm, which is rather confusing as it's not a worm and it's neither blind nor slow - it is in fact a legless lizard. This one is a full-grown male just over 50cms in length and as thick as my finger. I wanted a picture of him flicking his bi-sected tongue out, but it happens very quickly and after a hundred or so tries, I gave up! The best thing about having these in the garden is that their favourite food is slugs.

Saturday is also the day that I post for @se7en and you can see a full length view of this fine specimen if you click on: http://365project.org/se7en/365/2014-06-07
I love worm like creatures almost as much as bugs. LOL but this is a fabulous capture. And you don't need to worry about cat noise prints on your window to capture.
June 7th, 2014  
Oh I know these, we have them too! Great capture. Perfect DOF.
June 7th, 2014  
Great shot but I'm glad we don't see these in London.
June 7th, 2014  
Great capture, I love all of the detail in the surrounding grass and moss.
June 7th, 2014  
Great detail Richard. I like the shallow DOF
June 7th, 2014  
great detail
I've never quite gotten the difference between a legless lizard and a snake. I'm sure my niece's kids could explain it to me.
June 7th, 2014  
Great focus and pov!
June 7th, 2014  
Fabulous detail. fav. Katharine
June 7th, 2014  
Fantastic detail and capture.
June 7th, 2014  
Great close-up! He must not be shy.
June 7th, 2014  
This is a great closeup -- a legless lizard is new to me. I could use one to rid my ground cover of slugs.
June 7th, 2014  
Brilliant close up and focus, never seen such a creature! Fab shot
June 7th, 2014  
Great picture,love the sheen on his skin
June 7th, 2014  
Superb close up - spot on!
June 7th, 2014  
Fantastic macro
June 7th, 2014  
Great macro!
June 7th, 2014  
Great capture
June 7th, 2014  
Ditto what they all said -- great, fantastic, superb, brilliant...well, putting all those together might be hyperbole, but it IS a super closeup of the little guy. The other shot is equally good, but gives me the creeps just a bit. The shallow DOF makes it look like he (or she) is emerging from the mist or some other dimensional place.

And now for something completely different -- I see, Richard, we are get pushed partners for the coming week. I'll give you your challenge tomorrow. I am being displaced at the computer by Frank as it is 7:00 pm and time for what he and I call "Radio Night." Every Saturday he likes to listen to two radio programs that are on the local public radio. Since we get very poor reception through the radios we own, and it would waste gas to drive around for 4 hours listening in the car (good reception), he tunes in online and does other stuff at the computer as he listens. I guess that is more than you need to know. But "stay tuned" for your challenge.
June 8th, 2014  
Great shot, love the focus, not sure about the creepy crawly. I am sure if I started taking photos of worms my husband might really think I was demented lol.
June 8th, 2014  
Fav!!
June 8th, 2014  
Wonderful portrait. Super focus and detail.
June 8th, 2014  
He looks scary to me. Nice shot.
June 8th, 2014  
wow this is an awesome shot
June 8th, 2014  
Super capture! He has a slightly menacing face/or perhaps it is a look of inquisitiveness?
June 8th, 2014  
OK, I'm back. I have had a lot of fun looking back through your albums, revisiting some old favorites and pouring over all the wonderful images you have there. I can see you have a good degree of technical knowledge and are constantly experimenting with that. I wish I knew more about settings etc so I could give you an informed challenge in that regard. One thing I see in your album is that you're not an abstract kind of guy, it seems, though there are a few macros in February that could qualify, but not much. You're obviously not afraid of post processing. So this is your challenge. Make an abstract image -- either SOOC or using processing. Make it as abstract as possible. I hope you have fun with it. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
June 8th, 2014  
Fantastic capture Richard. I have never ever seen one even though we have them in the UK . Super detail fav for me
June 9th, 2014  
I sued to have them at another place, but no matter how many slugs I encourage, the slow worm doesn't come! Super shot.
June 12th, 2014  
PS Damn this thing … I mean 'used to' ….why does it so often correct me?
June 12th, 2014  
@yrhenwr Thanks David - to encourage slow-worms, you need to put one or two large flat pieces of wood or metal on the ground in a moist shady area and they will make tunnels underneath. Ours burrow under piles of grass clippings hidden behind shrubbery.
June 12th, 2014  
@vignouse Dozens of surfaces under which they can hide in our garden Richard - maybe they see me coming!
June 12th, 2014  
Wow, great shot!
July 19th, 2014  
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.