Welcome to our blog,
FROGS ARE GREEN!
For over 200 million years, ponds, marshes, grasslands, and rain forests have come alive with the calls of frogs. Yet these remarkable and colorful animals are declining at such a rapid rate that they are being called the Earth’s next dinosaurs. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, a third of the world’s amphibian species are threatened with extinction. To read more, click here!

Visit our Press page to see interviews and news features.

To follow us on Twitter:
@greeninnature

Join our cause page on
facebook_100px

Teachers:
Calling all Frog Artists!
Susan and I are seeking kids’ frog art—lots of it! We hope to encourage kids and their teachers to learn about and get interested in frogs, toads, and other amphibians. If you’re an elementary school teacher, parent, or educator, please send us jpegs (2mb maximum size) of your students’ or kids’ drawings or paintings of frogs and we will display them in school group galleries on the FROGS ARE GREEN blog. We’d be happy to receive images of any art form—sculpture, drawing, painting, or watercolor. Read more>>

Announcing the winner of our first "Frogs Are Green" photo contest! Congratulations to Jocelyn Hyers, whose winning photograph of a green tree frog was taken in Pierce County, Georgia, USA. To see her photo click here!

Do you do fieldwork or amphibian research with a zoo, environmental organization, university, or government agency? If so, please consider writing a guest post for us about your work (@300 words). Email it to us at: info@frogsaregreen.com.

Archive for the ‘Frogs Are Green contests’ Category

Announcing the Winner of the FROGS ARE GREEN Photo Contest

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

First off, Susan and I would like to thank all the photographers who entered the FROGS ARE GREEN photo contest. We were thrilled to receive your entries and it was incredibly difficult to pick a winner. We received entries from all over the world.

This is how we chose our winner:

Because we had asked for a frog picture in a natural setting, we felt we had to stick to our own rules. That said, we got some wonderful photos of frogs in unusual places. Next year, we will have a category for this. We would like to do a separate post in the coming weeks highlighting these photos (with the photographers’ permission, of course).

Of the remaining photos, Susan and I each separately picked five favorites. From the photos we had chosen in common, we then picked one winner and one honorable mention.

So without further ado, the WINNER of our first photo contest is:

Joceyln Hyers

Jocelyn-Hyers-frog

Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea), Pierce County, Georgia, USA. Photo by Jocelyn Hyers

Camera Info:
Fuji Finepix s700
Shutter: 1/64
Aperture: F/3.5
Focal Length: 13 mm
ISO: 100

Both Susan and I were struck by the unusual composition and peacefulness of the photo below of frogs resting on leaves so we are giving an Honorable Mention to June Dufour.

Frogs on leaves. Photo by June Dufour

Frogs on leaves. Photo by June Dufour

To all the photographers: With your permission, we would love to insert your photos in future posts on FROGS ARE GREEN. We would, however, contact you before using the photo to get your permission. Your name and a link (if desired) would be included. We think your beautiful photos deserve to be seen!

Thanks again for participating in our contest!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Frogs Are Green contests | 6 Comments »

Frogs of Summer: Wood Frog

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Sometimes it seems that the charismatic frogs get all the attention (like our mascot, the red-eyed tree frog). But the more ordinary frogs with muted colors have a beauty all their own.

Recently, my husband John and younger son Tim took a trip to New Hampshire where it rained every day. But all this rain brought out—you guessed it—lots of frogs and toads. My husband took this picture of a Wood Frog near Lookout Ledge in Randolph, New Hampshire (in the White Mountains). Unfortunately because he’s my husband, he’s disqualified from entering the Frogs Are Green photo contest!

Wood Frog, photo copyright John Rounds

Wood Frog, photo copyright John Rounds

Despite the rainy vacation, I’m glad my husband was able to get this beautiful photo. He took the picture on a hike on the one slightly sunny afternoon they had, using an ordinary point-and-shoot digital camera and a flash.

Here’s information about Wood Frogs:

Wood Frogs live in Northeastern US and most of Canada. In the winter they hibernate in places where it goes well below freezing—the water in their bodies freezes solid. This ability allows the Wood Frog to live further north than any other reptile or amphibian in North America. It is easily recognized by the dark mask around its eyes and the prominent ridges along its back.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Frogs Are Green contests, Meet the Frogs | No Comments »

Announcing the FROGS ARE GREEN photo contest

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

We are happy to announce the FROGS ARE GREEN photo contest. The winner will receive a free “Prince of Amphibians” t-shirt and we’ll feature the photo in the gallery on our blog. See the information on the left side of the blog. (Note: your photo can be of any amphibian, including salamanders).

For those of you who have never photographed an amphibian, here are some tips from the book Frogs: A Chorus of Colors by John and Deborah Behler, which has a chapter on photographing these elusive and well-camouflaged creatures:

  • Try to learn about the animal first. What is its habitat? When are they active?
  • Walk slowly and stop frequently (it helps to have someone with you who is less than 3 feet tall and has sharp eyes). Frogs and toads blend in so well that they are hard to find. Be alert for subtle movements.
  • In summer, you might find the sit-and-wait frog predators hanging out on the edges of ponds and lakes.
  • Be aware of the position of the sun. Avoid taking pictures at midday on bright sunny days. In the morning, face east and it will keep sunlight from coming into your lens and washing out your photos.
  • Don’t necessarily put the subject in the middle of the photo. Keep the whole animal in the photo, but compose the picture so the background tells a story.
  • Bracket your photos, i.e., take the same shot with different settings. Also, try taking a flash photo. Without a flash, animals in photos may look lifeless and poorly lighted.
  • Try to be on the same level as your subject.

Have fun!

My husband John and son Jeremy looking at a toad

My husband John and son Jeremy looking at a toad

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Frogs Are Green contests | 2 Comments »