Bats

These are disk winged bats in Costa Rica. We were hiking the trails in forest around the place we were staying, and I was peeking into heliconia leaves looking for frogs when I found these most unexpected residents. I had just bought my first digital SLR and was snapping like a mad man, but I was stuck. The top the the plant was about two meters, and I did not want to bend it down further than I had to peek in, which I would need to do if was to use my shiny new 20D. I had not yet had enough practice to shoot blind with that camera. Then, I remembered we had along our first digital camera, a Pentax Optio 750Z, with its lovely tilt-swivel LCD screen. I could take the picture while minimizing the disturbance to the occupants. It is still one of my favorite photos from the trip, even if it isn't a frog. Even with the thought put into getting the shot, the photo's quality is really a case of a blind hog turning up a peanut. This photo has been republished all over the web and used in several exhibits about bats. I like that.