Don't Hate Me Because I'm Beautiful

Tortoise l think,but don’t quote me on it!! great shot

she deserves the speed :)) haha

Great Shot! Love the name.

I am sure there are other turtles who think this is the cat’s pajamas. I think it’s quite beautiful..

Where do you live that has turtles like that?! He looks feisty!

excellent

oh and nice meeting you !! x

great capture ginger sor i should know but have drawn a blake sorry .

wow – great shot ~ look at the eyes ~ well done!

This guy is adorable!! I believe he’s a tortoise. I have two herman’s tortoises (or my children do-but guess who takes care of them???) Mine are only 4-6 inches long and that’s as big as they should get. My son would go crazy in your yard!!

Very nice image Ginger; I love your perspective here….well done!

This image is spectacular. Well done.

Just love him, he’s a darlin!

beautiful he (she?) is. a great candid image…..

I agree wholeheartedly

Wow, I’d love to have your yard if these come to visit, awesome capture!! Incredible creatures!!

Love the low perspective. Nice portrait work! He is handsome!

Oh Yes, I can just imagine…lol…poor dogs!!

Isn’t he just!!! Gorgeous portrait of a gorgeous animal, beautiful imagery and colour

Love the expression on its face and he is indeed beautiful

Great photo. DOF is amazing in this shot as is the composition. Nicely done !!

excellent shot !

great shot!!!

This is a fabulous macro shot. Well done…..!

WOW !!!! We all love it Ginger !

I am so glad you knew Ginger.

whatever he is he’s beautiful! great shot!

cool shot at least you could use a slow exposure they weren’t going anywhere in a hurry

Very nice capture!

I watch a lot of nature documentaries and turtles are aquatic, their shells are usually flatter and they have webbing on their feet for swimming.
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Tortoises are strictly land based. Their shells are rounder and they have claws for digging. I haven’t read all the previous comments but judging by the shape of his shell I’d say he’s a tortoise.

Thank you very much..I had been leaning that way.

Its a beautiful shot

Wonderful detail and nice low perspective!

love turtles! Love him. Nice capture..Great capture.Gorgeous colours and light wonderful shot..BRAVO BRAVO….........

absolute beauty …
so amazing to have these come throguh your garden!

fantastic! isn’t that a terrapin ? I used to have one of those a long time ago, nice job!

lol, i understand, well regardless its a great pic and very pretty eyes she/he has!

This guy is sooo beautiful!! I love turtles. Now, I’m not an expert on turtles either but the only turtles that hiss could be snapping turtles; not sure though. Here’s a story for you: When I was a small child we lived by a small river. I was so proud that I came across this turtle so I grabbed him by the tail and proudly carried him to the house and displayed him to my parents. My father told me to put him down and don’t touch him! then he took a stick and put it in front of his mouth and the turtle bit it in two. I was informed that he was a snapping turtle and leave him alone…AFTER I TAKE HIM BACK TO THE WATER! boy you should have seen me – I held that turtle at arms length all the way back to the water…so – be careful, Ginger!

yes, Ginger I totally know what you mean about the sacrificing! what we won’t do for a picture…my husband and kids think I’m crazy sometimes…but with a stressful life, this is what I have to do for a release….gotta love art!

ginge this should be in the eyes have it group also … hes cool

that’s 1 good looking turtle. :)

that’s 1 good looking turtle. :)

love turtles,l have one as my pet his name is oscar

Great shot! Glad he didn’t go in his shell before you got the shot!!! LOL : )

Oh, honey…he didn’t have the first intention of hiding out in that shell…he was 10 feet wide and bulletproof!!! He huffed and puffed, and stood his ground!!! With me taking about 30 snaps, you’d have thought he was a fashion model!!!

hes awesome .. I think hes a tortoise . lol hes hisses? !!

I just love turtles and tortoises. He is Handsome!!! I think he is a Turtle but really I have no idea

lovely shot:)

He looks like a star in a storybook. Gorgeous colours. Lovely composition. I keep won*ering what he is thinking.

Hey Miss G,
Its a Box Turtle usually found in the south mid west last one I saw was on my front yard too some 100 years ago when I was 7 or so and we lived in Kentucky. quite nice this one if you look closely you’ll see he can close down the front of his shell if frightened!
Take good care I think they are on the endangered list!

Hey, Sugar! He did actually close up a time or two in between the hissing. I did not know they were endangered, thanks for telling me….They are in and out of my yard because of a lake on the property….They drive the dogs crazy! You know you don’t really look 107, do you work out?

captivating..nice textures and clarity.

lovely face but little bit scare

great shot Ginger!

Looks like a Gulf Coast Box Turtle or maybe A Eastern Box Turtle depending on which part of the country you live in.

Beautiful animal….great capture:>))

What’s the difference between a tortoise and turtle? Now I gotta go look it up – this is a lovely shot! He really hisses?? wow! I would love to hear that – you must have been close to hear him hiss. He looks so “jurassic” – like a dinosaur!

wow.. nice close up….obviously you must live in the country….

Wonderful capture Ginger!

Awww… I had one of these pee on me once, you’d think I would know what it is…. LOL… I was trying to rescue it, and it piddled in mid-air… oh well, the rescue was a success.. : ) And what’s a little turtle/tortoise pee on your work clothes?

i used to have this kinda turtle! nice photo

Terrific detail! Nice natural colors! Great shot!

Awesome!! great timing. look like he got his eye on you…

I wish I knew what that was… LOL.. my screen just shows a little box with a red x in it…

eastern boxer! in my youth we had plenty in our area, these days they are rare. love them completely

everything bites if you stick your finger near their mouth but they bite slow. eastern boxers are so cool, give him strawberries, blue berries lettuce and earthworms, they have a ritual where they stretch their necks raise their head and slowly open their mouth, they are like primitive dinasours then they go down and clamp…...if its hot out treat em right and sprinkle cool water on their shells…. they are magnificent ancient creatures and once they get use to you you can pet their heads, at first they are very shy and when you approach they pull into their shells…...but really they are lovely creatures.

http://www.hostmoon.net/~bumblebe/storage/Eastern%20box%20turtle.jpg

just a small jpg of photo

Love all the stuff on his nose and mouth – looks like he’s been having a really good time snuffling around!

This is great, looks so good mounted on the black – very striking :) P.S I’m pretty sure it’s a tortoise… the only turtles I know of live in the sea but then that’s a greek thing!

Tortoise – and a beautiful one at that.

I really like this Ginger! I love turtles and this guy is no exception! AWESOME and your title is great! ;)

We were living in the country, my parents came to visit, my Dad had had a stroke and was relaxing on a deck chair when Tommy slowly walked by him ” I Hate Turtles” he said, we all laughed, he never hated anything in his life, it was the effect of the stroke. Wish he was still with us, Dad not the turtle, mind you I was fond of the Turtle.
Wonderful image, congrats.
Rock

I’m glad I could bring your Dad to mind….nice bittersweet memory….Thank you for commenting..

Great close up, wonderful image.

Lovely little fella!

Clearly this is a world in love with turtle, terrapins, and reptiles. It took ten minutes to scroll down to the end of the comments you’ve inspired here. It’s a great shot for all the detail on the critter’s face, those amazing faceted eyes, and coloring. And he’s got a wonderfully curious and bright look to him that makes him just delightful to see. I have heard that like lizards in the yard, reptiles of all kinds are a good sign because their skin absorbs so much they prosper best in places where the land is really good. Well done, Ginger. Thank you for bringing this fine beast to us all, and a beauty indeed.

Beautiful portrait! I love turtles so much. it looks a box turtle to me. :)

yes well, true turtles are lovely…....but Ninja Turtles…XDD

great capture love this one

lovely detail and capture!!
nice little guy!

I love your site Ginger and I have got a great kick out of this particular picture discussion.One of the things I like about your photography is you think outside the box. Having said that… this is definitely a BOX TURTLE. Most likely an Eastern Box Turtle. I believe the only tortoise in the US is the Desert Tortoise. My mother had an Eastern Box Turtle when I was a kid that ran around the house for more than a decade. It would bury itself in the shoes at the bottom of Mom’s closet in the winter and hibernate. Anyway, great pic!

Lovely shot, great macro, I love turtles!

I used to have a lot of these turtles back in the 90’s. Had a big pen in the backyard with a small pond I built. I never got bit by any of them. Usually they retreat inside their shell if they are frightened. Unlike most turtles they have a hinged bottom shell that will actually close so they can lock themselves up tight! Hence they box turtle. Prior to building the turtle pens, I did try to follow my Mom’s footsteps and let one roam free around my apartment. I had to stop that because he aparently thought my toes were big fat worms and would attempt to have them for breakfast. Luckily he never suceeded and I built my first pen in the basement! That was as close as I ever got to be being bit. But he thought I was a food source!!! (Yes they love big fat nightcrawlers!)

Nicely done…tortoise I believe due to the shell and legs. Your location would be more decisive about his though.