Late summer roundup

[Sushigaijin]

I didnt get out much this year, and shot only about 3500 frames since january. For suzy-homemaker this may be a lot, but I usually shoot four times as much by now. Anyway, here's a group of shots that finally made it into photoshop.

All from a trip out in july, I think. Cook County, IL.

plains gartersnake


redbelly snakes, two color phases found within three feet of each other. These are really variable critters.



a portrait of the pretty one.



The ubiquitous brown snake



And the target of my trip, smooth green snake.





Pretty good for ISO640. Bullocks to those who think Olympus can't hang at higher ISOs.

My next post is my fall snake road post - I'll wait on that for a couple of days because it's HUGE...

[AgingEyes]

Sharp photos, especially the first one !

A couple of questions if you don't mind:

1. How close are you most of the time when you photo the snakes?

2. Are you by yourself ?

3. How do the snakes react to your presence?

4. Some of them look like you were shooting from a very low perspective. Were you lying down to shoot them? If so, I'm wondering if that would be a dangerous position to shoot snakes.

Thanks !

[OldClicker]

Being from the same area, I can answer part of your question. None of these snakes are the least bit dangerous. The only poisonous snake we have is the hard to find, very docile and easily identifiable Massasauga rattlesnake. - TF

[Sushigaijin]

thanks AE. The spots that I have around the city carry a higher risk of slip-and-fall than snakebite. There have only been a handful of venomous snakes found in cook county in the last twenty years since urban sprawl extirpated the massassauga rattlesnake. Pretty much all of the venomous snakes in cook county in the last ten years have been released pets.

Having said that, there is still the unlikely chance that a 'sauga might turn up. I certainly haven't had any trouble finding them within a two hour drive

Midwest massassauga rattlers...

Every time I go herping I do take certain precautions. Mostly that involves carrying bottles of water, a snake hook suitable for lifting debris like plywood and roofing tin, and a pair of welding gloves to protect my hands from splinters, nails, and thorns. The single most important piece of equipment is the knowledge of how close is too close.

I do try to get pretty low for most snake shots because higher-angle shots are generally unimpressive. There are already thousands of good field guide shots out there - my goal is to present the subject in a manner that most people don't have the experience to see. Sometimes that requires laying prone. With these harmless snakes, that's no big deal. I'm more concerned about nails and broken glass than the snakes.

The working distance for this lens (50mm macro) is four inches to a foot for these shots.

[Eric D]

Fantastic series...but that first shot is just amazing. Great job on these!!

[paulnj]

Awesome images Erik!