Bay Area Salamanders

I recently wrote about pick-up shots: the kind of images I try to create to expand my portfolio when my time is limited. This weekend, I applied that technique to salamanders. Thankfully, there are a couple of lakes in the Mount Tamalpais Watershed where I can easily find salamanders at this time of year, and the wet conditions we’ve been experiencing make it even easier.

On this trip, I focused on two locations: a stream running into the lake where I’ve seen newts go to mate and under the fallen branches of some oak trees near the water. As it turned out, I found a lot of salamanders, but mostly in other locations. Some were on the trail, making their way methodically to or from the lake, but not in it. Others were scrambling around the wooded areas, enjoying the damp, dark edges of the woods.

The dim light of an overcast day made it kind of tricky to work without a flash. Still, thankfully, I was able to capture some images of California newts (Taricha torosa), California slender salamanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus), Oregon ensatinas (Ensatina eschscholtzii oregonensis), and a bonus bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus).