Sing it with me.....A-gama, Gama Gama Gama Gama Chameleon?
I had to throw in Boy George there. Mom jokes are allowed in our house. This is probably the post to round off the year of 2020 and I thought I'd show off some fancy, colourful lizards to celebrate the end of this (sh*te) year. All things considered this year, I did make a substantial effort to sort some of my photographs into folders, the first time in many years. My friends told me that priorities shift when you have kids, boy were they right. So here are two amazing reptiles that I adore photographing. Agamas and Chameleons. The Agamas are tricky little blights - lightning fast and they always see you coming long before you see them owing to their great camouflage. 
They tend to be found mostly on the ground although some species are more specialised for rock climbing or scuttling along trees. 
These breeding males kinda give themselves away though with their bright almost metallic blue heads. 
I simply love trying to get good photos of Agamas, they present a challenge and they almost always seem a bit annoyed when you get a good shot of them. They have a lot of personality and do rather funny looking head bobbing courtship displays (similar to Toothless in How to train your dragon 3). This pic is of a female that is very pregnant, and rather fed-up. I didn't stick around long and decided to rather give her some space. 
Most Agama species eat mainly ants and termites, bulking up their diet with beetles and other bugs if necessary, while some are herbivores. Reptiles have always been one of my favourite animals to photograph and I've been so grateful to build up the library I have. With the news of stricter lockdowns, travel bans and almost cancelling Christmas, I am going to set it as a goal for 2021 to sort out my photography folders seeing as actually taking photos outdoors will probably not feature much.
Here is another beauty. The Chameleon. They are fascinating to watch. I was honoured to be able to photograph one of the smallest chameleons in the world in Madagascar. These are about the size of a thumb nail. The guide told me that they only live on the forest floor and have almost entirely lost their ability to climb. Their legs are actually so short that if they fall over on their backs, there is a chance that they won't be able to get back on their feet. 
This next picture will indicate the size better. It is on the palm of my hand...my lens really was having trouble focusing and this was before I had my DSLR. 
Here is their much bigger cousin, I believe this was a Panther Chameleon. These photos do not do justice to their vibrant colouration. 
They eat flying insects but will also wrap their sticky tongues around ants, termites and beetles. 
I was very pleased to find this one - I am not sure now which species this is, but it was the only one I saw with the long nose horn while I was there. 
Coming back to my home country, I still delight in photographing our local chameleons. This is the Cape Dwarf Chameleon below. A rather shy species that turns grey and then black when disturbed. 
I was watching this chameleon for a good while hoping to get a shot of it catching a fly or bee visiting these daisies. I didn't get that opportunity but this one is just fine, it's earned it's place in my library as one of my favourites. They eat anything flying or crawling that looks appetizing to them and they give birth to live young which most chameleons don't do. They babies are very small as you can see from this one sitting on my thumb. 
Every day outdoor is an absolute blessing and it's such an honour to take photos of these amazing animals. Each seems to have it's own personality and quirks. I hope you all enjoyed this little photo journey of my reptile adventures, may you all have a beautiful New Year and let's hope that 2021 brings us all better tidings and time filled with love, hope and joy. Comments and discussions are always welcome With New Year Wishes xx Andy xx
