All Eyes on the AmphibianWith the Tamron 28-75mm lens, Erin Yard captured the exotic tokay gecko and National Geographic honors. |
By Jennifer Gidman Images by Erin Yard |
Erin Yard has spent the past eight years abroad teaching English in Japan, Korea, and (during the last year) Saudi Arabia. During his early forays around Asia and the Middle East, he picked up a camera and cultivated a serious interest in taking pictures. “I was provided with this great opportunity to travel through these amazing countries,” he says. “It was only natural that I developed a passion for photography while I was over there.” |
Yard has been back in the States for about six months, but he didn’t leave his photographic penchant behind: Earlier this year, he took a day trip to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, where he shot this acclaimed image of the eye-catching tokay gecko with the Tamron 28-75mm lens. “I knew they had a permanent butterfly exhibit, as well as a gecko terrarium, so I wanted to check it out,” he says. “That 28-75 lens has the versatility to do everything from macro shots in nature to taking portrait shots — it's a great walk-around lens, so I knew it would be great to take to the academy.” |
He was shooting away in the gecko terrarium when he managed to capture this image of the “pit bull” of the gecko world (when this particular species bites, it often won’t let go, latching on to its victim from several minutes up to an hour). Yard was drawn in by the reptile’s distinctive spotted body and large eyes. “I’m fascinated by the gecko’s eyes,” he says. “I also love patterns. I had that 28-75 lens opened up to F/3.2, pretty much almost wide open, and it was so sharp — you can see all the detail in his texture.” |
The tokay gecko has the ability to cling to most surfaces without any liquid or surface tension, thanks to the setae (small hairlike structures) on its feet. “This gecko was in an enclosure in the terrarium, actually hanging from the grille on the top of the enclosure, so I shot from an angle looking up,” says Yard. “My point of focus was pretty much his eye and his front leg. These geckos tend to be pretty stationary, so I didn’t have to worry too much about him moving around. I shot it at ISO 200 at 1/640th of a second.” |
The lighting shining through the top of the grille nicely complemented the gecko’s pattern. “The juxtaposition of the available lighting from the grille and his skin, the way he was highlighted and with that dark background — it was perfect,” says Yard. “I didn’t really have to play at all with the sunlight.” |
Yard even had the opportunity to hear some of the tokay gecko’s signature croaking — a familiar sound to the traveling photographer. “I have a friend who lives in Thailand, where these geckos are indigenous, so they’re everywhere,” he laughs. |
After taking the image, Yard submitted it to National Geographic’s photo contest for a chance to win $10,000 and an opportunity to have the image published in an upcoming issue of the esteemed print magazine. “I didn’t win the main contest, but the image got selected as a ‘Photo of the Day,’” he explains. “After I thought about it, I realized in some ways that might have been better exposure than getting my image printed in the magazine. After all, we live in a world where everything is about the Internet — there are probably tens of thousands of people all over the world who get the Photo of the Day e-mailed to them!” |
In fact, it was this exposure that led to the same image being featured in a two-page spread in the German magazine Hoerzu Wissen in February 2011. “Because of that e-mail with my National Geographic Photo of the Day, an editor who searches for photos for this particular German magazine got the e-mail and contacted me,” he explains. “It was serendipity!” |
For more of Erin Yard’s work, go to http://erinyard.photoshelter.com/. |