Last night as I was walking to the greenhouse to water my tomato plants, I noticed a movement in the grass. Once I got closer I saw that it was the big fat old toad that you see in the photo above. Every time I see one of these huge toads, I am appreciative of them, because they hold a special place in my life.
I was always interested in photography, and carted around a lot of camera equipment in pursuit of a good picture. In 1977, I was on Vancouver Island and came upon a very photogenic toad. I set up my tripod, hooked my telephoto lens onto one end of a bellows, and attached my 35mm camera onto the other end. Looking through the lens finder, I brought the toad into focus, and I held out my flash, and snapped the photo shown below.
It turned out remarkably sharp and clear. Later that year I found out that the newly created Harrowsmith magazine was having a photo contest and one of the categories was “Friends of the Garden”. I entered my toad photo and then pretty much forgot all about it.
When we arrived back into our newly purchased home in McBride, after driving to Indiana for Christmas, there was a package waiting for me at the post office. It was a Nikon camera, the Grand Prize in the Harrowsmith Photo Contest. It was a wonderful surprise.
However, my joy was somewhat diminished when I looked into the copy of Harrowsmith magazine that was sent. There was a big blowup of my toad photo, a centerfold in the magazine, but below it, the caption said, “Grand Prize Winner: Bob Marchant” Yes, my big fifteen minutes of fame was blown because they got my name wrong.
You can view my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
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