Rattlesnake on the trail. Also taking any editing suggestions :)

[jryan5646]

So this is my first post outside of the introduction page! I thought I'd share a shot I got of a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake the other night at the end of our hike. The catch was, I found at the beginning of the hike I had left my memory card in the reader back at home (I seem to keep learning this lesson with each piece of gear individually). However, my girlfriend was with me, I let her use my lens, 18-135mm instead of her 18-55mm on her waaay old school rebel. When we came across the rattler she gave me her camera to shoot. But I also did not remember that she shoots in jpeg and not raw... big bummer.

SO, here I am with this shot I love compositionally but have been having a tough time editing in post, and this is where I'm at with it for now. I'm pretty aware of what it lacks quality wise out of the camera, but if anyone has any editing suggestions/critque they'd be warmly welcome! Let me know what you think

 

[JacaRanda]

The only thing I would consider in this kind of shot and specifically that subject, is staying safe while getting as close as I can with zoom only. After that it's just a matter of cropping as much as I can to highlight features of the snake. The eyes, the pits, the head, the length and the rattle. Getting all of that with it stretched out instead of coiled......probably not happening. Cool shots either way.


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[IzzieK]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!

 

[Bamps]

If you leave them alone, they remain docile. If you want to shoot snakes and get great shots, I would advise getting a good 75-300 lens. That what I use. The warmer it is the faster they are and more frisky.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/nature-wildlife/360989-ain-t-he-cutie.html

 

[TheNevadanStig]

Well for C&C as others have said, you need to get much closer and a lot more detailed shots. If you did not feel safe or comfortable doing so with this guy, that's understandable though. I would have cropped out much more of the top, and I'm also not sure why you chose to have the shot so tilted either.

 

[jryan5646]

The only thing I would consider in this kind of shot and specifically that subject, is staying safe while getting as close as I can with zoom only. After that it's just a matter of cropping as much as I can to highlight features of the snake. The eyes, the pits, the head, the length and the rattle. Getting all of that with it stretched out instead of coiled......probably not happening. Cool shots either way.

Thank you for your suggestions! I was certainly doing all to stay safe and keep a safe distance. I actually have a couple shots of him off to the side of the trail I'll post below however, still limited by my lens and ability to get close enough safely. Was excited to see him and be able to get a few shots none the less and hoping to turn them into something decent. Thanks again!

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk!!!!

That's pretty much what I said what I first saw it!

If you leave them alone, they remain docile. If you want to shoot snakes and get great shots, I would advise getting a good 75-300 lens. That what I use. The warmer it is the faster they are and more frisky.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/nature-wildlife/360989-ain-t-he-cutie.html

Absolutely, and this one was very docile. I kept a safe distance, it was sun down and he didn't seem threatened. Mainly was concerned with getting back to his den I assume, never even rattled. I wish I had a bigger telephoto for situations like this, someday! Was excited to be able to catch some shots of him though! Thank you for your suggestions! And your shots from the link are fantastic. Love the detail, well done!



Here is another one I took of him where we first encountered him off to the side of the trail. After taking this shot and moving past him was when he began moving across the trail in the first photo.

 

[W.Fovall]

missed the focus a bit

 

[JustJazzie]

Thanks for the nightmares. ;-) heheh. Very cool shots though. I would probably level the horizon a bit in the first one if you can. It looks pretty off in that regards to me.

 

[jryan5646]

Well for C&C as others have said, you need to get much closer and a lot more detailed shots. If you did not feel safe or comfortable doing so with this guy, that's understandable though. I would have cropped out much more of the top, and I'm also not sure why you chose to have the shot so tilted either.

Thank you for the suggestions! Certainly would have loved to be able to get a closer shot but unfortunately it was just a surprise encounter and was limited with equipment. I actually really enjoyed the compositon in this. The rock formation in the background to the left is called Tom's Thumb and well known locally, so the shot may appeal more only to a local now that I think about it. The shot is actually level, the trail has slope to it here, you can see the mountains in the background are level, although still slightly rising to a larger peak towards the left. I did try leveling it out to the snake when editing, but it looked way out of whack. Maybe due to the angles it's just a shot that will look too weird to people. Thank you again for your input though!

 

[jryan5646]

missed the focus a bit

Yeah, it's a bit off. Unfortunately due to the situation with the camera, this rebel of my girlfriends that I had doesn't allow for single point af, only all 5 at once, making it difficult to pinpoint the focus. Really gotta remember that memory card next time. Thanks though!

 

[jryan5646]

Thanks for the nightmares. ;-) heheh. Very cool shots though. I would probably level the horizon a bit in the first one if you can. It looks pretty off in that regards to me.

Haha sorry about that! If it helps at all, he was very calm and never even rattled! I'm learning this shot looks strange to some in terms of levelness. It is level to how I was standing, with the trail having a slope, the mountains in the background level while slightly rising to the left to a higher peak. If I straightened it out more towards the snake it looked out of whack. Maybe just too weird of angles to look right. Thank you for your thoughts though!