PRO+

pixelmac

rattlesnake

NIKON D200

settings

Aperture f/11 ISO 100 Shutter 6/10 Focal Length 1000/10

upload_date

Oct, 2017

Views

168

Likes

+21

Awards

People's Choice in blackandwhitetextures Photo Challenge

Peer Award

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I took the photo at the terrarium section of the Wilhelma zoo in Stuttgart, Germany

Time

It was past noon when I made that shot. It was one of the last pictures I took on that day (I went to the zoo shortly after the opening to use the time before the most visitors came. As it was a summer day in August, I planned to first look at the enclosures outside and ended my trip inside the shady buildings at the aquarium and terrarium whil outside it got hot.

Lighting

Flash photography was forbidden, and I wouldn't have used it anyway to not disturb the animals. As there was only artificial light, I had to use a tripod to get a clear picture.

Equipment

At that time (2007), I used a Nikon D200 APS-C camera with a Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro lens. As the camera and lens didn't have any built-in stabilization, I used a tripod.

Inspiration

I had taken many shots of that snake on several occasions. I was always fascinated by the silver eyes. This time, I wanted to put the focus more on the patterns on the snake skin. So, by making the picture black & white, the eyes were a bit less eye-catching ... ;)

Editing

I only converted the picture to black & white so that the eyes got less prominent and then raised the contrast to further emphasize the skin patterns.

In my camera bag

As my equipment list grew and the lenses got bigger, I switched some years ago from Nikon to Olympus (i.e. the Micro Four Thirds System). Nowadays, I have an OM System OM-1 and an extensive set of lenses. As it would be too heavy (even with the smaller m43 lenses) to pack all my equipment into one bag, I carefully select the equipment, depending on what I intend to shoot. This can vary from a big backpack with several strobes and other lighting equipment, a smaller backpack with just my 150-400mm lens, or just a small bag with one or two smaller lenses...

Feedback

When you visit a zoo, you never know what you'll get at that day. So always be prepared with getting different pictures than maybe originally planned. I was many times at that zoo, and always got some great shots, just not the ones I was looking after. It often is helpful to wait a bit in front of an enclosure, and sometimes you get lucky ...

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rattlesnake

Behind The Lens

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