They are separated by 3,000 miles, the bird in Southern California and the frog in Connecticut. Make no mistake, though. The bird is not happy. The frog is having a great time.
The bird is a snowy egret, and now both of its wings have shot up. There was probably a fish in its sights a split second earlier, and then in a blink a big wave crashes down. Saved, at least for the moment, the fish swims away, the hungry bird left to wonder how millions of years of instinct disappeared — along with lunch.
The bird now angrily strolls away from the ocean’s edge. It needs to regroup. There are, as everyone knows, other fish in the sea.
Still, the bird is angry with itself. And a bit embarrassed. Is the ocean supposed to startle a bird like this? Finally he takes a quick look around. Did this happen to any other egrets?
Then there’s the frog. Its left front leg is wrapped around a small branch. His right front leg hangs freely in front of him. Both of his hind legs are balanced on a slightly larger branch, and they’re spread as widely as they can be. The frog looks straight ahead, with a small smirk on its lips.
This is a gray treefrog, and a cocky one at that. The gray treefrog is supposed to be able to camouflage itself. You should be able to look at the tree and not see the frog at all. Instead, this one is posing, almost taunting the observer. Nothing scares this frog.
How is it possible to know all of this about a specific bird and a specific frog? Their pictures tell all. These pictures are more than photographs. They’ve crossed over into art. And like all great art, these photographs are open to whatever interpretation the observer imagines.
The artist who took the pictures is named Kate Joyce.
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