Lizard Series – Part III

Canon EOS 7D, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM + 2x TC @ 380mm, Aperture Priority @ f/5.6 (1/640 sec), 0 EV, ISO 500, Handheld, Cropped Horizontal from Vertical

Subject: Jerdon's Forest Lizard

Situation: A good number of my photographic opportunities with wild subjects ironically I've found at my local open zoo, though mostly these are with birds flying in from surrounding areas as well as those that choose to settle and nest, there are other subjects like Long-Tailed Macaques who choose to inhabit certain areas (largely due to the knowledge that they can feed rather well off the human visitors!) and several species of Lizards that I've come across, ranging in size from very small up to 4-5 foot long Water Monitors.

Driving in one morning I saw a flash of vivid green a few hundred meters in front of me shoot from one side of the road to the other. I brought the car to a stop to see whether the Lizard would disappear in the undergrowth or not. Fortunately I was far enough away from it's comfort zone and apparently what it really wanted to do was warm itself up in the rays of the rising sun.

I parked off to one side, grabbed my camera, and carefully got out. Taking my time, firing off a few shots along the way, I edged forward and he eventually let me get quite close. The Jerdon's Forest Lizard is at least 4 or 5 times the size of the Blue-Crested and Garden Fence Lizards I posted up in Parts I and II of this series, and it's tail is about twice as long as it's body, so I classify this species as medium-sized, even though this image makes it appear deceptively larger.

We'll continue graduating upward in Parts IV and V :^)

Comments and critique always welcome :^)