Perching over a branch of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) tree in my garden was a familiar frog. Being the frequent visitor to my kitchen and bathroom, I had opportunity to capture this Common Indian Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus) on several occasions. This was the first time I found it on the tree. Being late at night, my garden was poorly lit. Frog had perched around 9 feet above ground, high up in the branches. Only by extending my arms well above the head I could get a closer view of this frog. Closeup focusing at that height was a difficult task.
To capture this in close-up I used my macro rig consisting of Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM illuminated by Canon MT-24EX macro twin light flash. By pre-focusing it and holding it high above my head I could capture these photos blindly. After every few captures, I used to chimp at the back of the LCD and adjust my manual focus. Unfortunately I could capture only from a very limited position on the ground below the frog. Lots of distracting branches were also behind the frog. To eliminate all that clutter from the background I used dark background by using the aperture to f/13 & using ISO 100, and using flash close to the subject.
These frogs measure about 7-8 cm in body length. They are mostly brownish, yellowish, greyish, or whitish above, with darker spots or markings, rarely with an hourglass-shaped figure on the back of the head and the front of the back. The loreal and temporal regions are dark; there is a light line on the upper lip. The hind side of the thighs has round yellow spots, which are usually separated by a dark brown or purplish network. The skin is smooth above, granulated on the belly and under the thighs; a fold extends from the eye to the shoulder. Males have internal vocal sacs.
It is widespread throughout Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as western and southern Bangladesh to Chittagong District; its range might also extend into nearby China and Myanmar. This common and adaptable frog is listed as Species of Least Concern by the IUCN.
They have day roosts that they may use regularly. Their call is a sudden short and rapid series of rattling rat-tats. They wipe themselves with skin secretions consisting of mucus and lipids that help in reducing moisture loss. When temperatures are higher they secrete fluid from the skin, pant and adopt lighter skin colours.
