My Inspirational Toad

This particular photograph is much more than a picture of a toad to me. It's a reminder of the moment I fell in love with photography.

Back in 2012, I was on a trip in Vietnam with my family. One night, I saw this toad sitting in a pond outside my room. I didn't have a camera at the time, but I decided to grab my mothers camera to snap some photos. Something happened in that moment. I became captivated by this rather simple toad. I spent nearly an hour outside playing with the camera and snapping photos - all while holding a flashlight above the toad with my other hand. I was obsessed with capturing the perfect image and I looked crazy doing it.

After returning back home, I went through the photos and this particular photo was my favorite one I took that night. On a whim, I submitted this photo to a National Geographic photo contest. This photo was one of the 85 photos that ended up being featured by National Geographic. From that moment on, I have never stopped taking photos.