European Reptile & Frog images by Rob Valentic

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 𝐀 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐞
Back in May 2019, we were in the midst of an unforgettable, month-long road trip through the stunning vistas of mainland Greece. I can remember thinking that spring evenings do not get much better, as I walked along the embankment of a shallow stream with open marshland on one side and lined with tracts of mixed oak forest on the other. I was soaking up the balmy ambience for all it was worth as I followed this stream connecting the two lakes within the utterly beautiful Mikri Prespa National Park located in remote northern Greece at twilight. There were majestic, snow-capped mountains in the distance, towering above the vast and clear lake. The lower mountainsides were cloaked in shade and subsequently dotted with a smattering of lights from charming little villages. The lake surface was mirror calm at that moment and the clear reflection of the mountains it contained was temporarily shattered here and there by broaching carp 𝑪𝒚𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒊𝒐. These big fish were rising to the evening hatch, culminating in a myriad of flying insect wings resplendent in the fading light. This amazing scene capped off by a swirling cloud formation. Such scenes are few and far between in Australia.
Daydreaming, lost in these scenes before me, I was snapped back to reality when I disturbed a large frog leaping away upon my approach. This frog must've been propped amongst some stones in the shallows. Anyway, having tracked where she landed I gently plucked her up once I'd wet my hands in the stream. I was elated to see that she was a really beautiful specimen of the Agile Frog 𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 and at that size, she could only be a female. She was most special in other ways too, as she remained the only one I was fortunate enough to see during my time in Greece. I propped her on a rock and she was most obliging, posing perfectly for a couple of images before leaping back into the stream. It was a great moment and I'm grateful to have this image of her so I can reminisce about that very special place and this brief interaction with one of its inhabitants.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR, Laowa EF mount 15/4 1:1 wide angle macro lens and lit with a dash of fill-flash.

 Copyright Rob Valentic Gondwana Reptile Productions  

My fascination for European Toads was borne when I was around 5. Back then I used to love this British TV show that aired on the ABC called Catweazle. It focused on an eccentric, 11th Century wizard who was magically transported to the then modern day England of the late 1960's and his attempts to use magic to return back to his own time.

His constant companion and confidant was a Toad named Touchwood. Touchwood was as cute as, and hung out in Catweazle's pocket or beside the wizard when he was casting spells and such. I was hooked, and dearly wanted to have my own pet Toad just like Touchwood.

That's why I was so excited to see a Toad on this trip to Europe. When I uncovered this really stunning sub-adult European Toad (Bufo bufo) beneath a stone in the Dadia Forest, I was jumping around for joy like a kid again. This one was the only one I found on that trip too and remains the first Touchwood I've ever seen in the flesh.

Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV coupled to a vintage C/Y (Contax/Yashica) mount Yashica ML 55/2.8 macro lens from the 1970's with a third party adapter. Shot hand-held @ f.16, ISO:125, 1/125th, with fully manual focus/settings and a diffused, twin flash kit. 

  Copyright Rob Valentic Gondwana Reptile Productions

 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐩 𝐕𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝑽𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐬

Mount Odro is a majestic mountain of the Swiss Lepontine Alps, located between the valleys of Maggia and Verzasca in the canton of Ticino not far from the Swiss/Italian border. I was 31 years old when I hiked up to a charming stone cottage nestled along the picturesque upper slopes of Mt Odro with some Swiss herps and a couple of Aussie mates. We were only there for a few nights but I can tell you, that it was life changing for me and right up there as one of the most special places that I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It left a mark on me I'll never shake and not just herpetologically. It was the whole package.  

There was the intense flavours of the mountain produce that I can still taste alongside the awesome company, and those epic views from an outdoor Game of Thrones-esque  stone table, laden with food and wine in a setting of such ambience. These are but a few of the memories that I treasure of that place.

I have been fascinated by European herpetofauna ever since I was ten years old. My mum had bought me a superb handbook (see image) on the subject back in 1978 that I’d read over and over. This book is still cherished and parked on the shelf as I write this btw. As I poured over the text and beautiful illustrations time and again,  I had a yearning to go to Europe to search for these treasures myself. 

Well, here I was, on a glorious morning scoping for a snake as I walked along the top of a loose scree slope overlain with some decent boulder fields bathed in summer sunshine. It was easy to imagine the von Trapps singing their anthem on the grassy slopes ahead. Utterly perfect! I was deep in that focussed zone, searching for a viper that I'd dreamed of seeing since I was a boy. My heart missed a beat and I reckon I gasped when I saw his fucken thing loosely coiled and basking along the edge of the scree. She was magnificent, all that I could have hoped for and more, positioned within an idyllic setting that was so close to how I had pictured an encounter with this species in my dreams for so long. I went into euphoria for a long while over this find and writing about it is bringing those vibes back big time.   

Taken with a Conax RTS 1 SLR 35mm film camera, Carl Zeiss Distagon 28/2.8 wide angle lens using Agfa ISO 100 color positive 

slide film. Image digitally drum scanned from the transparency.

   Copyright Rob Valentic Gondwana Reptile Productions