Resting Rattler

[Steve Canuel]

40D, 400DO + Kenko 1.4xTC, f6.3, 1/200s, ISO 640, -1/3 EC, tripod mount, almost full frame.

[christopher galeski]

like the shot ,like how the head stands out with the body at the back is OF,thanks.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

I like it. The DOF really focuses your eye on the two most important things, the head and rattle!

If you had time to work the scene, it might have been fun to do several different f stops to give more DOF options to choose from. I suspect you would come back to this f stop, but still fun to experiment.

Of course, I am not sure I would want to aggravate this guy with a long series of shots!

How close were you to him?

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Steve, I like the DOF in this, and as Randy has said, the head and tail are in the same plane, thus both in focus. The comp is fine, and you have managed to show the markings and colours nicely. Well captured.

[thijs broekkamp]

Lovely shot from a lovely animal. Indeed a nice dof, bg colours are good, head is good sharp. Great pic

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Steve. A classic pose plus good exposure and comp. Very sharp where it most needs to be. I might vote for a little more DOF, but that seems to be a minority opinion. :) Well done.

[Steve Canuel]

Thanks for the comments. I was moving slow while taking the pics as I didn't want him to slither off into his den. I intended to try some different things but after about 6 shots, he had enough.

Randy, I was probably 8-10 ft away.

[Fabs Forns]

You managed to isolate the head with your selective DOF. Very well done, although I wish you had taken a few steps to your left to place the head ore to the right of the frame. Wishful thinking, I know :)

[Ed Cordes]

Nice as presented. I do agree with Fabs about a step or two to one side helping the comp.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Good one Steve! I would have loved to move to the right but that is not always possible.

[Leon Plympton]

Steve –

This is a most impressive photograph of what looks to be a Mojave Rattlesnake. The venom of the Mojave Rattlesnake, in case you didn’t know, is substantially more toxic than that of other large rattlers in the west, such as the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Once bitten emergency medical treatment, primarilly anti-venom, is highly recommended – but enough of that.

This classic pose you captured looks to have been photographed in reasonably difficult circumstances (poor lighting), yet the exposure, focus and limited DOF are all good, especially where it counts – on the closest coil and its face. Both the eye and its pit are quite sharp.

BTW: Where was this photograph taken, and did this rattler happen to have a slightly green color? On my monitor it appears to have a slightly green tinge to it.

-leon

[Steve Canuel]

Steve –

This is a most impressive photograph of what looks to be a Mojave Rattlesnake. The venom of the Mojave Rattlesnake, in case you didn’t know, is substantially more toxic than that of other large rattlers in the west, such as the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. Once bitten emergency medical treatment, primarilly anti-venom, is highly recommended – but enough of that.

This classic pose you captured looks to have been photographed in reasonably difficult circumstances (poor lighting), yet the exposure, focus and limited DOF are all good, especially where it counts – on the closest coil and its face. Both the eye and its pit are quite sharp.

BTW: Where was this photograph taken, and did this rattler happen to have a slightly green color? On my monitor it appears to have a slightly green tinge to it.

-leon

Hi Leon,
Thanks for the look and comments. I believe this to be a Prairie Rattlesnake, as they're the most common ones in this area (south central colorado, eastern side of the Rockies). This is a denning area and I've seen as many as 5 at a time in this spot. Not completely sure of their range but I think I'm a little too far east for the Mojave. This one was sort of a yellowish-brown but he was in the shade of a crevace with a pine tree canopy when I took this photo. I've never calibrated my monitor so its possible you are seeing a greenish tinge that I'm not.