Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Got a few of the 05's to stop long enough to take some pics yesterday.

First two are holdback females produced here this year (siblings from VR stock).

Male produced by Dan Vermilya

And, an F2 male (from wc female), produced by Tim Gebhard

Enjoy!

Bob

Great photos as always Bob!

I finally ordered Campbell & Lamar's "magnum opus" Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere. I look forward to relaxing by the fire with it and admiring your photography.

Dan

Hey Dan:

That is a wild-looking snake! Good call getting Campbell & Lamar--it ranks as one of the most impressive herp works of all time. My pics are a tiny fraction of the 1400 or so images within--Campbell and Lamar were pretty shrewd in using photos from many photographers, thereby ensuring robust sales!

Cheers,

Bob

Fantastic shots of some mighty nice thayeri Bob, your '05 females are really looking good. Dan's superb young male blends in very well with that background, interesting photo of a great high contrast leonis!

I was surprised to see the striking peach coloration in your F2 male from Tim, I remembered him being more of a pale yellow in Tim's pic under bright sunlight. I hope I'm seeing his color correctly and I hope he holds on to some of it. I don't see many nice, true peach colored animals anymore. Looking forward to the next update on that little guy.

Thanks again for sharing!

Mike

Tell us (me) a little about your photog setup. What kind of lighting do you use? What kind of camera? Do you use the macro setting? I really like the natural lichen rocks too. Is it a fairly large rock? Tell me about your rock setup? Oh BTW your thayeri are excellent looking too.
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Vichris

Vichris Variables

Vichris:

Thanks for the nice comments. All snakes are photographed outdoors. I am pretty spoiled in that I have a variety of backgrounds (various colored lichens to mosses to just dark granite) to choose from on our property in the Sierra Nevada foothills--it's a boulder-strewn landscape and thus perfect for many kinds of herp photography. Camera is a Sony 828 digital set on aperture priority and macro mode. All pics taken at max resolution of 8 mp. I use an add-on macro lens than allows me to not have to be soooo close as to create lens shadow from the flash. The flash is screened by a diffuser (a very simple, card-like thing that snaps on to the barrel of the lens)--so I don't have many problems with glare.

I have photographed herps for many years (with 35mm cameras) and so have a fair bit of experience in "encouraging" them to behave themselves during photo sessions, but they don't always cooperate!. I find that snakes are apt to feel more secure if there is a niche in the rock that allows them to back in and have contact with rock surfaces. If I did not have the luxury of having plenty of natural backdrops here, I would not hesitate to "borrow" some rocks from nature and create an indoor (or garage) photo setup. It's not hard to do. Really, it's all about lighting and remembering that the eye must be the focal point in all pics. Sorry if all that is completely obvious!

Thanks for your interest. Let me know if you have specific questions that I've not answered.

Cheers,

Bob

Wow...... I presumed that you had an indoor setup. The lighting in your pics is so good that I guessed that you had some pretty good lighting setup in a studio. I also like to take most of my pics outdoors. I never would have guessed that that flash diffuser would make that much difference in reducing glare and shadows. We have lots of lichen rocks here in NM too but I don't have any on my property. Thats a pretty easy fix. I'll have to try some of your techniques when the critters are done "chillin out", in the spring. Thanks for the info Bob and keep those pics coming. We all really enjoy them.
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Vichris

Vichris Variables

Your photo's are fantastic, thanks for sharing them. You have very beautiful thayeri.
Also thanks for all the post you made on the "mexicana intergrades", They were enjoyable to read and gave be a better understanding, thank you for taking the time to share your insight.

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Michelle