‘From this perspective, the bullfrog feels powerful and mythical’: Steven Scott Grogin’s best phone picture

The photographer was on an early-morning hike by a lake in Michigan when he spotted the unusually large amphibian, so he dipped his lens below the waterline to get the shot Steven Scott Grogin describes his mornings in Michigan as a ritual. He wakes up at 6am on the dot to get ready for a hike. His favourite lake, once a quarry pit, is a 30-minute walk away, so he tends to arrive by around 7am. “It’s serene and private, and I feel very peaceful there,” Grogin says. “The terrain changes from flat areas to very hilly sections, and there is a lot of biodiversity.” As he circled the lake’s perimeter, he saw this American bullfrog in the water. “It was the largest one I’ve ever seen, around six to eight inches long and very hefty,” he says. “Bullfrogs are predators, but they’re also very skittish, so getting close is difficult.” Grogin hoped the animal might naturally drift closer to the shore. Once it did, he set to work. “I got as low as I could in the mud and moved carefully, making sure I didn’t startle it,” he says. “Holding the phone steady at the surface, I slightly dipped the lens below the waterline to get this shot. It took patience, balance an

Aug 15, 2026 → Aug 15, 2026