Chris Kayler Photography

In an attempt to get away from the herp pictures for just a bit, this is an image I took while in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia a few weeks ago. In the higher elevations of the park, the dogwood trees were still in bloom, and the fresh spring foliage shown in bright shades of green. Additionally, it was a cloudy, rainy day, and the clouds settled onto the tops of the mountains like fog. These picturesque conditions were just about perfect, except for the fact that they were accompanied by strong winds. To combat the wind in an attempt to obtain a sharp picture, I used a slightly higher shutter speed than normal by using a wider aperture and higher ISO. The resulting image is sharp and looks flawless technically. While the gut reaction of landscape photography is usually to use the lowest ISO and a small aperture, don’t be afraid to push your camera in an attempt to capture the image as you believe it should appear.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

I apologize for the lapse in posting. My extended weekend was spent in north-central Pennsylvania at a friend’s cabin with a bunch of herpers. It was a ton of fun hanging out by the campfire, as well as heading out into the field to find reptiles and amphibians - new and old species alike. I managed to take some photographs, but most of the time was spent “speed herping” with the guys and not on obtaining new images. Until I’m ready to post some of the photographs from my Pennsylvania trip, this image is from a week earlier in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The subject of the photograph is the Pine Barrens Treefrog. The Pine Barrens Treefrog is a small, colorful treefrog found only in a few bogs of the New Jersey Pine Barrens and a few scattered southern populations. These treefrogs begin calling around dusk and can be extremely hard to pinpoint based on their voice. However, with the help of Kari, we managed to find this individual and photograph him. Using full flash at night, I was able to handhold my camera for easier maneuverability in the cramped forest conditions and obtain several nice images of this species.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

As mentioned in my previous post, Kari and I went on a herping trip to the Delaware Water Gap NRA a few days ago. The Longtail Salamander was a target species, and with the help of our friend Jeff, easily found. These large, beautiful salamanders are a species that I had been hoping to find ever since beginning my search for reptiles and amphibians. While they do occur in Virginia, it seems I needed to head up north to find one of their strongholds.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

Kari and I went on a day trip two days ago to meet up with some herpers in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The weather was absolutely horrible for reptiles and amphibians - cold and rainy - but we gave it a go anyways. Despite the weather, the day turned out to be great. Species found included Long-tailed Salamander, Black Racer, Northern Ringneck Snake, Northern Slimy Salamander, Northern Redback Salamander, Northern Two-lined Salamander, Spring Peeper, and this beauty, an adult Eastern Milk Snake. Strikingly patterned and relatively rare, these guys are surely among my favorite snakes.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

Due to high winds, rain, and cold temperatures, I’ve decided to postpone my planned West Virginia trip. Instead, I am spending some time in New Jersey with my girlfriend Kari until we head out to Pennsylvania next weekend to meet up with some herping friends (people who study reptiles/amphibians). Yesterday, we made a day trip out to the New Jersey Pine Barrens to meet up with a friend to try and find some some herps. It ended up being an awesome day, with 4 new species of herps photographed. This salamander, a Northern Red, was found near the end of a day. After searching intently in seemingly great Northern Red Salamander habitat for months, I had finally succeeded in finding this species in the most unlikely location, under a pile of cement! No problem, I’ll take what I can get.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

On the same morning as my previous post, before traveling to Shenandoah National Park, I also photographed some Gray Tree Frogs that I had captured the night before. Gray Tree Frogs, like chameleons, have the capability to change colors (albeit more slowly). This guy changed from the normal gray appearance to a brown color, and matched up perfectly with the dark brown bark of this tree.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

A bit of news today before this post. I was out looking for snakes under rocks today, and one fell on my finger and then proceeded to slip off, giving me a nasty wound and a broken finger. After 6 hours in the E.R., I’m finally home and able (barely, attempting to type with this finger brace is beyond annoying) to post some of my recent results here on my blog. Now, onto the good stuff.

This image is from a rainy 6 mile loop hike down Doyles River and up Jones Run in Shenandoah National Park. It was a tough hike, but the high water levels and new spring growth made it more than worth my time. This particular photograph is of a small, but beautiful cascade a few hundred feet downstream from Doyles River Falls. I had to stand thigh-deep in the creek to get this perspective, and think it was worth it. Many times, a nature photographer has got to get dirty to get the shot!

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

A good friend of mine recently found a Red Fox den in Delaware, and invited me up to photograph the babies. Wow, how cute they were. In this photograph two of the youngest kits are playing with each other right outside the entrance of their den. I just love photographing baby animals, and these Red Fox kits are certainly among the cutest!

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

I photographed this species for the first time a couple of days ago at a park in the southern Piedmont of Virginia. Pictures, mine included, just don’t do these guys justice. They are large and strikingly beautiful in person. Unfortunately, they are just about impossible to photograph! I found 7 of them before I managed to get some pictures. Upon lifting a rock where one is hiding, they will flip and flop like crazy until they land in the stream, gone forever (to me). The Three-lined Salamander in this photograph actually let me photograph him as I removed the rock. I would have preferred a different setting, but as soon as I touched him he did the same routine as all his previous buddies. I’ll definitely have to get back there to get some more images of this awesome salamander.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

This image is a couple weeks old, but one that I have yet to post on my blog. It is from a trip to a local nature preserve here in Virginia, and this individual was the first of this species that I had ever found. The slimy salamander is a large, and well, slimy, salamander. In this photograph, I liked the way the lichens on the rock echoed the spots on his skin.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com

Yesterday I decided to take a little trip up to Maryland to explore Catoctin Mountain/Cunningham Falls State Park. I spent a few years of my childhood growing up just miles from the park, and visited regularly. Considering I was just a little boy the last time I had visited, it seems I had forgotten how beautiful it was there. I found myself engrossed in the sounds of the bubbling creeks and the sights of the large hemlock trees. Photographic opportunities existed around every corner. This particular image is of Big Hunting Creek, one of the larger creeks that drains the area. In the lower elevations this section of the creek is particular turbulent and photogenic.

To order this print or purchase stock rights please contact me. To view additional photos for sale please visit my website at www.chriskaylerphotography.com