Free Ride...
What's to say? Seems like everybody is looking for one, nowadays... :)
What's to say? Seems like everybody is looking for one, nowadays... :)
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Dec, 2013Views
2909
Likes
Awards
Chatter Award
Top Shot Award 22
Winner in Best Selfies Photo Challenge
Winner in What's on Your Head Photo Challenge
People's Choice in First,..Take a Selfie Photo Challenge
Winner in We See you (Most Creative Self-portrait Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Jaw Dropping
Virtuoso
Genius
Love it
Top Ranks
Top 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Categories
MitchellWentzell
June 28, 2015
awesome photo, easily one of my fav that I have seen on this whole site. Nice to c someone else taking photos underwater while snorkeling
john_arsenault
January 01, 2016
Don't sell yourself short on comments; visual humor is hard to do (i my opinion) well, and you pulled it off ( i am assuming its humor, and not an Indiana Jones situation!)
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LookSee
October 03, 2016
Thanks, y'all! Your votes brought me all the awards, so yours is the part of glory! :)
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LookSee
February 25, 2019
I'd say it's fun. Not one bite in nine years - they're not aggressive. Humans are aggresive! :)
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geophotos
July 22, 2019
Snake Whisperer! Much deserved multi award winner snake - look after it! :))
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AnnHopta
June 09, 2020
Congrats on winning my challenge Best Selfies. You nailed it for fun and creative!
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Platinum
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Sheri_Stanley
June 04, 2021
NOW I'm going to have a snake nightmare! Incredible photograph, but ewwwww lol
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Beautiful-Breeze
August 04, 2021
I don’t know if you put that snake there, or if he came up like that, either way it doesn’t matter this shot is fabulous. Kudos to you for your incredible imagination and imagery. I love your work and thank you for sharing it with all of us. Magnificent!
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LookSee
August 05, 2021
Thanks much - the scene is entirely authentic. It happens more than once, but this time I was lucky to photograph it correctly. Enjoy! :)
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Ultimate
marysorberdye
August 11, 2022
This is so right in so many ways. The big one is the shock and unbelief that this could happen!~
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LookSee
August 11, 2022
Thanks - such encounters are not so rare at all, as the snakes are very inquisitive and seem to be attracted to the red snorkel. There are not many red-colored things in the Lake (as opposed to the sea)... or maybe they are just being friendly! :)
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LookSee
November 14, 2023
No you wouldn't. On the third encounter or so it would already be something normal :)
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Elenkamen, Lake Ohrid (Macedonia)...Time
13:44:38... and some very long seconds there...Lighting
Daylight only, and Daylight WB. There was no thinking about that at all, just enough time to snap off one shot before the "free rider" slid down my shoulder and vanished.Equipment
CANON D10, an able little camera almost ideal for one-handed quick snapshot. I was extremely lucky to frame just the right picture content, as the situation required more reflex than anything else.Inspiration
I'm sure it was the snake climbing over my head! Actually, the inspiration was late this time, as the photo happened before inspiration managed to arrive...Editing
Lighted the area within the mask a bit. Also, I did a little re-sharpening after resizing the image. The frame is slightly cropped too.In my camera bag
In water, I carry very little. After many years of SCUBA and other kinds of diving that require lots of equipment, I nowadays genuinely enjoy the simplicity. So it is just one camera, basic snorkeling tackle, and a forearm-strapped knife (intended as a tool, not as a weapon). Otherwise, I do not carry any photo bag for years already, since I discovered that all I need can be comfortably divided unto several of the many pockets of my photo vest.Feedback
Hard to say what to do in a situation like that. I'm pretty much used to snake encounters by now, and similar things have happened several times since. But to get a correct photo in similar situations, it is absolutely imperative to keep your cool. Make no sudden moves. Any jerky movement might scare the snake, and then he'll swim away so quick you won't be able to see where he went. So move fluidly, straighten the arm, raise the camera so as to look directly into the lens, and snap off as many shots as the situation allows. Do not worry! If the snake is not alarmed, he will not bite you. He's neither attacked nor cornered, so he's got no reason to do so. Unless it is an anaconda. Then my advice is, you better shouldn't have been there! ;) Think about it this way: there is no chance that any of your defensive, offensive, or evasive movements could possibly be quicker that that of a snake! Thus, if the bite hasn't already happened, it also won't. The main thing is to forget right away that an animal (any animal) is dangerous only because it has that capacity. It is your behavior that makes the animal decide what to do. Keep hoping that at least one pic will come out correct. There is not much more to do. Otherwise, wait (while shooting all the time)... until the snake swims away. Enjoy!
