Paula Walland, Watchful Water Dragon (ANIMALS 2023)

This watchful water dragon's naturally defined scales stood out to me like little pebbles, giving it the appearance of a prehistoric creature in miniature form, as it rested on a picnic table in the speckled light from the trees above. Content to be photographed, though ever alert and watchful, moving its head around to keep an eye on me, the water dragon's stare made it perfectly clear that my presence was known and that I was being watched!

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.