garyrhook
garyrhook
Emerald Boa

Emerald Boa



upload_dateJan, 2015

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1529

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Awards

Featured
Contest Finalist in The Green Color In Nature Photo Contest
Runner Up in 1000 Phobias Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in 1000 Phobias Photo Contest
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Peer Award
JanHrischenko ARUNASPINIGIS aliceforrallies 831John DEBOLINA_MOITRA mickriley joaolavadinho +54
Superb Composition
learwoody lisarichardson_3346 joecelyne brucesharock SettingSky Kcable dwijendralalchowdhury +41
Top Choice
LaureMontebello arnoldgum ashadhawale eranschaffer KODonnellCreative fabs alessandromalvaso +19
Absolute Masterpiece
Cathleen_Shea Yulius brijeshsingh Mirza_Cengic terrysigns13 andrewverdie IamAleks +17
Outstanding Creativity
RJamesWhite WildHeart98 darylchamlee larryanderson_0924 LeeBennett ecoplannet WorldofBeauty +11
Superior Skill
diegoscaglione jdmarks64 CorinaAio RebelFlame Albert-Serra-Photography wwphoto74 sherrymohammed +7
Magnificent Capture
mrsevenpin thesimmermon Cozmoky BobbyLeeTateJr denisenewman felicebellini ChrisKIELY +4
All Star
jmimages KristinaOers JamesAltonPhotography NorandCindy p_eileenbaltz jojoxena
Genius
johannesoehl
Love it
Badgrandad

Emotions

Impressed
edraubenheimer KristinaOers

Top ClassTM

Reptiles Photo ContestTop 10 class
Reptiles Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Celebrating The Green Color Photo ContestTop 10 class
Zootography Photo ContestTop 30 class
Zootography Photo ContestTop 30 class week 1
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The Green Color In Nature Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
1000 Phobias Photo ContestTop 10 class
1000 Phobias Photo ContestTop 10 class week 1
Textures Photo ContestTop 20 class
Textures Photo ContestTop 30 class week 2

Categories

7 Comments | Report
cmorisset PRO
 
cmorisset January 07, 2015
Stunning capture, amazing detail, light and colour. Great work Gary!
VHiggins
 
VHiggins May 29, 2015
awesome! congratulations!
lisagallant
 
lisagallant May 29, 2015
Pretty color!
timmc
 
timmc June 04, 2015
Congratulations on your award. A truly fantastic image.
snowdon PRO
 
snowdon September 03, 2015
This is an amazing colour, congratulations on your Finalist Win in The Green Colour in Nature
GeraintRowlandPhotography
 
GeraintRowlandPhotography October 03, 2016
Great
KristinaOers PRO+
 
KristinaOers November 11, 2019
Stunning capture!!!
garyrhook
garyrhook November 11, 2019
Thank yoU!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Behind The Lens

Location
Captured at the herpetarium at Moody Gardens in Galveston, TX.
Time
As is often the case with exhibits of this sort, the interior is kept quite dark. So even though we were there in the early afternoon the mood and lighting were nocturnal.
Lighting
The challenge here is that I had to shoot through glass, and had no control over where the subject was positioned. Anyone who has been to a zoo knows the animals often find seclusion when they are resting or sleeping. But I was lucky enough to find it resting on a branch in full view, which meant that my biggest concern was reflections in the glass. Fortunately that was not much of a problem here.
Equipment
This image was captured with a Nikon D5100 and a Nikon 105mm macro lens, hand-held, no flash.
Inspiration
When viewing a snake curled up such as this, I am always intrigued by the lines of the body, the texture of the skin, and of course the eye(s). Since I don't anticipate getting to a rain forest any time soon, when this opportunity presented itself I was quite happy.
Editing
I use Lightroom for basic edits, adjusting exposure, and noise reduction. In Photoshop I take advantage of Topaz Labs filters, especially Clarity and Detail, and masking to darken the edges and add further drama to the image.
In my camera bag
I am 3 years into my D5100 and it has been a reliable companion. I keep a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens, along with (usually) my 150mm macro lens. I have recently acquired an 85 f/1.8, which I also love. All that, plus a speedlite and stand, remote, wireless trigger, and batteries. Never, never go without extra batteries.
Feedback
One often hears that one should "get it right in the camera" but honestly, sometimes conditions don't allow for that. If I had taken the ligthting conditions as they were, this image would never have happened. I think it's important to know how to post process to bring out the vision that one had when one captured the image. Work on your basic skills (holding still when pressing the shutter) and focus on composition (move around to get your best shot). Then take advantage of what LR and PS allow to create something you're really happy with.

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