It’s not easy being green … and glamorous

THE 2023 Wildlife Queensland Froggy February Photo Competition turned into something of a ‘glamour’ photo shoot for some of Australia’s most beautiful – and cheeky – frog species. The winning ‘model’ and two runners-up, could also be naturally called ‘graceful’.

Winning photographer Jai Randhawa’s study of the graceful tree frog (Litoria gracilenta) is such an engaging montage that it could have been part of a Hollywood set – but it was actually Karawatha Forest in Logan City, near Brisbane.

“Graceful tree frogs are typically rather elusive,” Jai Randhawa said of his determination to get the shot. “On this night, however, the approaching storm had these guys in an absolute frenzy. I spotted this individual sitting on this smallest stem poised to head off into the night.”

Which the tree frog, true to its name, did so gracefully after striking the winning pose.

The two runner-up photographers, Niall Bradley and Bridgette Gower, also managed to capture graceful tree frogs willing to work with their cameras to create natural history magic – thousands of kilometres apart.

Niall Bradley