Ready for your close-up?

There are various traditional views of the world photographers have always taken, the view from above, the view from below, the view from close up and the view from far away. But the frog's-eye view is new.

It was adopted by photographer Greg du Toit, in Kenya's Great Rift Valley, and let him capture these remarkable shots of African wildlife coming to a watering hole to drink. If you look closely and think, you can work out where Du Toit has taken up position. He is part-submerged in the middle of the watering hole.

After a frustrating year of building hides and digging trenches near the animals' drinking spot, in which the perfect picture he hoped for never materialised, the 32-year-old decided his best option was to get on down, deep, dirty and damp. With the frogs.

And more than just frogs lurked in the murky pool. During the 270 hours in which he sat semi-submerged to get the big cats and other wildlife on film, Du Toit picked up several tropical maladies: he contracted the chronic infection bilharzia, malaria (twice) and was infected by other parasites.

But he emerged triumphantly with a new take on the African wildlife portrait (no mean feat these days, such is the competition). The shots, some of which have appeared in BBC Wildlife magazine, not only show unusual angles, they show unusual combinations, such as the almost-surreal pairing of a female waterbuck and a kori bustard, who appear to be standing to attention, shoulder to shoulder. Nothing new to frogs, of course. But a new sight to us.