yesterday at work .....

[blacknstormy]

we were lucky enough to catch a rough scaled snake, Tropidechis carinatus . He/She was gorgeous, but has strongly neurotoxic venom, so we didn't play too long. Apparantly they are a nervous snake, and get shitty pretty quickly, but we were lucky and had one that was pretty calm... did get a little stroppy though

[aim54x]

WOW...great set and kudos for getting so close!

[big pix]

B&S.... great pixs as usual..... and a great catch

[biggerry]

105mm macro? that ain't far enough away in my opinion!

you are officially nuts... But they are some cracking shots, really love the shot with the forked tongue in view

How does/did the snake respond to the flash?

[phillipb]

105mm macro? that ain't far enough away in my opinion!

A telescope still wouldn't be far enough in my opinion
... and did someone say gorgeous?
Great photos.

[xerubus]

You may be damn crazy.... but awesome shots.

I'd freak out if that was behind glass at the zoo!

[blacknstormy]

Hey guys Thanks for the comments.

I was about 30cm from the snake, so far enough away, and Damian had tailed it, (was holding it by the tail), so I wasn't too worried. Figured that if he let go, I'd just stay bloody still, and it would head for the bush

Didn't react at all to the flash - which threw me a little, as the last carpet snake I found hated the flash with a passion !! The flash wasn't too bright though, and I was using a diffuser, so maybe dampened a bit ??

Was sooo chuffed that we got it though - we were working in really thick long grass, so we wouldn't have found it otherwise

Hugs
Rel

[rflower]

great shots and as others have mentioned, great courage

good use of DOF. I do like # 3. Good profile shot.

[ATJ]

Great shots, as always, Rel. The focus is excellent. Where you using manual focus or auto?

[biggerry]

Damian had tailed it, (was holding it by the tail)

yep, hes also officially nuts...



I was watching a doco the other night and it had some footage of a redbelly black snake attacking a frog, these move so bloody quick it is astounding.....the only movement from me in this situation will be two legs going as fast as possible in the opposite direction

[colin_12]

Great stuff Rel.
Damian wouldn't let go of it on you would he?

A mate just back from South Africa had a black spitting cobra come up behind him while he was taking pics of flowers, scared the .....proverbial out of him. Odd considdering that he chases this sort of stuff here in Aus. He got some good pics of it as well.

Gerry, you would be better off standing very still and maybe moving away very slowly while keeping an eye on the little blighter. They react poorly to sudden movements.

[ATJ]

I was watching a doco the other night and it had some footage of a redbelly black snake attacking a frog, these move so bloody quick it is astounding....

The same documentary had the same species of snake as in Rel's photos in stand off with a large carpet python.

[blacknstormy]

lol - he wouldn't want to let go !!! (or maybe he secretly really would  LOL)

Andrew - I was using autofocus but all manual settings ... d700 really really quick on focus, and as I had spent 4 days in bed with a 38.9 temp, headache, body aches and trouble breathing after getting 10 ticks in ond day, didn't want to risk thinking I had the snake in focus, and later realising that I didn't At least I only got 10 ticks that embedded - got another 10 off before they stuck their little heads in !!

That snake doco sounds like it would have been great - pity we missed it And as for the spitting cobra - I definitely would have had baggage in my pants afterward !!!!

And for the shot, I didn't need courage - I had Damo

[ATJ]

That snake doco sounds like it would have been great - pity we missed it And as for the spitting cobra - I definitely would have had baggage in my pants afterward !!!!

The documentary I was was actually about Rainforest - The Secret of Life. It just happened to feature a rough scaled snake, a black snake and a carpet python. There was what looked like an adder, too, but it wasn't named.

[Matt. K]

Fascinating images. You are the snake master!
Hope you're feeling much better.

[DebT]

not my favorite subject but you have done an excellent job isolating them from the background and giving the skin real depth and bringing out the intricate detail
DebT

[petermmc]

I really like the depth of field you have used. In my view, it makes it almost as the eye would see it... focusing on the head of the snake. I saw a docco recently on what happens when you get bitten by one of these critters. I agree with the comment that 105mm seems just a little close. That shot with the forked tongue out is just brilliant.

All the best.

Peter Mc

[Geoff M]

Braver than I Rel! Great captures and worthy of the praise already bestowed upon you. I could never produce an image anywhere near this calibre of the same subject. If I was taking the shot it would be a landscape shot and you would not know the snake was there!

[surenj]

Holy c#ap!

This is as crazy as that fella on the TV; "Man vs Wild"

Great captures. #1 is the strongest composition.

[Matt. K]

12 gauge anti-venom works very well. (I'm kidding)

[zafra52]

Excellent shots! I hope you were using a long lens

[Hudo]

Must have been a 600mm lens... Nice images...

[surenj]

Hudo it was the 105mm macro I think he was going for the working distance advantage.

[marcotrov]

They're all great images Rel. Particularly like that last profile shot, razor sharp great sense of movement with the tongue.
cheers
marco

[Nikon boy]

Great images
i always admire your posts
I do not know how you do it you are probably no errrr,,, madder (Greg help me out with correct grammer) than the rest of us that do not take pics of snakes,,,,,,

then again, having looked at the pics again perhaps you are !

but keep posting !

Cheers

[Big Red]

awesome shots Rel ...
every time i see a snake i have the 12-24/4 on and its in shade ... never any luck

100mm from the subject is just too close for me

[blacknstormy]

Wow - sorry, missed all of those posts - have been running around the bush again.....
And taking the other half to the doc - now HE has the temp, swollen lymph nodes, headache, aches and pains from another bloody tick !!! Oh the joy
Thanks everyone for taking the time and making the effort to comment on my shots - wasn't that scary 'cos I really do trust Damian, and he knows his stuff, and I'm lucky that my camera takes good photos
Thank you all so much
Hugs
Rel

[wendellt]

hi
it's good to see you back
awesome pictures
how do you get so close are you actually on the ground in the snakes face or are you shooting telephoto
i can't tell
either way your brave
im not scared of snakes but im scared of getting dirt on my clothes
and the stain of venom

[hellman]

Good pics, love the chance of death factor.