It's time for your CLOSEUP!!!

[WTP07]

Spent some more time in the bush when I was supposed to be working again today.

Had some limited success.

This snake was pretty co operative. I had a very hard time keeping his entire head in focus with the macro. Any suggestions on this? Further back and crop with PP maybe?

As you can see by my fingerprints, he was enormous!!




Squirrel closeup. This guy looks like he's been hitting the gym! Look at those pipes!


Duck Closeup. This is some kind of hybrid I think. He was with the rest of the mallards at the pond. Didn't seem to slow him down any, he had a "lady duck" hangin' right with him, so maybe coloration has little to do with mating? Dunno.
I thought it was kind of a cool close up though.


Gull Closeup. Again, just kind of practising and seeing how close I could get without them taking off.


Let me be clear on this. I hate Kestrels. They are so damn spooky. My prime photographic goal right now is to get a clear, clean, crisp picture of one, that is not on a wire. When that happens, it's going on my wall, right above the bed, 6' x 8' wide. That's right. 6 FEET by 8 FEET wide. I don't care what she says. It's happening.
:mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

This jackass, was taunting me.


That's it for today. Going to the boat tomorrow right after work, so I might get some more Pelee transients on Saturday.

Cheers,

Randy.

[Pink Dragonfly]

Randy, great minds think alike! I was at it yesterday - nothing like rummaging around in the bushes!

Great shots, not sure I'd be grabbing that snake though And of course I love the squirrel What crispy clear duck!

Here's one of mine

Mette

[WTP07]

Thanks Mette,

The snake was TINY....I've seen earthworms twice the size of this guy.

Nice macro of the fly!

[Pink Dragonfly]

Thanks, I'm a little more comfortable around flies than snakes or spiders for that matter! Though I've never been around snakes with a camera, not yet - we only have two sorts in Denmark, adder (poisonous) and grass snake (not poisonous) and they are pretty shy. I've only ever seen one once here, when we turned my Granddad's rowing boat over the first time after a winter. Borneo is a different story! I actually don't like spiders but I go all funny when I have a camera with me This guy is also from yesterdays bushes, not a clue what it is, but it looks weird and with more than two eyes??? And he's about to go over the edge!!!

Mette

[SenorNikonMan]

Spent some more time in the bush when I was supposed to be working again today.

Had some limited success.

This snake was pretty co operative. I had a very hard time keeping his entire head in focus with the macro. Any suggestions on this? Further back and crop with PP maybe?

Did you try stopping down more to get more depth of field? In macro photography it is oftentimes difficult, if not impossible, to get all of your subject in focus but as long as the eye(s) is/are sharp then the image is considered to be sharp.

How did you even find that snake btw?

[WTP07]

Thanks Senor, I will try that.

I saw a pile of DEAD snakes on the road, and thought...hmmmm...must be sunning themselves....maybe there's a wiggler around here somewhere....took 2 steps and one of the "dead" ones tried to slither away.

I was REALLY trying to get a shot of him with his tongue out....and I got several. All out of focus, or blurred. I was holding the camera with one hand, and him with the other, about 3 inches away from his head, and trying not to move back and forth. I had the monopod with me, but no tripod. I even tried to set him on top of someone's mailbox, but he just tried to slither off. Good models are SO hard to find. LOL.

[scott-devon]

Great shots Randy, that second one of the snake is beautiful. Nice catch on that merlin/kestrel in flight too.(at work, don't have my bird book handy to Id it) I'd love to get a good shot of one.

[Sushigaijin]

use the hat trick.

I put larger snakes under my hat and let them hang out for a few minutes. Once they have calmed down, I remove that hat and have a few moments to get the shot before they start to slither away. Typically the longer the photo session, the calmer they get - they tire easily.

With very small snakes like your brown snake (stereria dekayi), it is better to cup them in the palm of your hand and gently but firmly press them into the ground for a minute or so. When you pull your hand away they will take a few seconds to get their bearings...which should be all you need to get 8 or ten shots at two or three angles. Sometimes they will just sit and pose nicely for ten or fifteen minutes.

Now I'm interested in the story behind the pile of dead snakes - where they all roadkill? just basking in the fall sun?

[WTP07]

Erik,

thanks for the hat trick! I will give it a try next time.

The dead'uns were all road kill. More of the same species and some with bright red longitudinal stripes.

Cheers,

Randy.