IMG_4242
Largest rattle snake I've yet photographed this close!
This, surprisingly calm, pink snake is nearly 3 feet, long, 'Maybe' a bit larger, ...
Read more
Largest rattle snake I've yet photographed this close!
This, surprisingly calm, pink snake is nearly 3 feet, long, 'Maybe' a bit larger, And I'm 5 inches from his-her face!!
(DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPLICATE!)
C. atrox
Photographed using the Dedicated Life Size Macro Converter... (intended for 50mm f-2.5 Compact Macro)
But I'm using the 50mm f-1.8 "STM." instead (the "Nifty 50") A combination which produces surprisingly sharp images at 'nearly' Life size Macro, but doesn't quite achieve that 1:1 ratio.
Read less
This, surprisingly calm, pink snake is nearly 3 feet, long, 'Maybe' a bit larger, And I'm 5 inches from his-her face!!
(DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPLICATE!)
C. atrox
Photographed using the Dedicated Life Size Macro Converter... (intended for 50mm f-2.5 Compact Macro)
But I'm using the 50mm f-1.8 "STM." instead (the "Nifty 50") A combination which produces surprisingly sharp images at 'nearly' Life size Macro, but doesn't quite achieve that 1:1 ratio.
Read less
Aug, 2017Views
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Top Shot Award 21
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Outstanding Creativity
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Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
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Behind The Lens
Location
I remember getting back to my camp one day, Distraught about life, I decided to take a short walk, out into the desert.. And actually I was looking for rattle snakes. It was only about 50 yards from where I was staying, where I saw him on the move, possibly looking for a mate.Time
Only a few hours before sunset.Lighting
With macro photography, I really enjoy using the MT24EX. But rattle snakes are easily frightened, agitated, or angered. Make a wrong move, and they can flip from calm and comfortable to "Get out of my face!" before you even realize what you did wrong, before you even realize you already have fang holes, and venom deep in your flesh. A bright flash, and wave of warmth, from a strobe, might just trigger that with the snake, I don't know, and I don't really care to find out either. I had no 'intent' on getting bitten, just the thought, of risking it. So, I shoot without strobe, without flash, and without artificial lighting.Equipment
One of my favorite lenses for macro photography is the EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro, combined with the Dedicated LifeSize (1:1) Macro Converter. But, Life happens, and I no longer have the 2.5. I pawned it years ago along with my first 50D as well as my MP-E 65mm, just to help catch up on the rent, so I wouldn't be homeless. On a budget I later purchased a 50mm STM, and mounted it on the same, Life Size Macro converter... I have been quite surprised and impressed. As for the camera, I was using the EOS 40D.Inspiration
It was the Danger, and the risk that most inspired me to create this photo. When I started taking rattle snake portraits, I wanted to capture a photo that no one else would be able to get. An image that most people wouldn't have the guts to even try. To be honest, I've always had a strong connection with animals. But, previously, I can't say I've ever felt the desire to approach a wild rattler, I've always been quite fearful of them, And would never have dreamed of taking a photo like this. Well, I may have not been on this planet very long, But in that time, I've experienced more than my fair share of loss. By the time I took this photo, technically, I had already been homeless, living in my truck for over 2 years. With the struggles I was going through, there was a part of me, that wanted to die. I've contemplated suicide numerous times. So, one of the things I've lost, was fear.Editing
I try to do as little post processing as possible. If I can nail it in one shot, I'm happy. Sometimes, you can find that magic angle, getting the eyes nose and the scales/skin in focus, without stopping down, other times, its just impossible. But I never really like to stop down. In the display, usually all I check is the Histogram, I don't often check the image, It's better just to shoot more, trying to nail that magic angle on each shot. So, any time I have a subject that is very still.. like this one.. If or when I remember, I'll use two different methods, first, I try to nail the image, but then, I'll take half a dozen photos moving the camera very slightly between each image, which "Sometimes" allows me to create Focus Stacks, or even Pano/Stacks, using anywhere between 2 and 6 photos. I use Photoshop, to mask one over the next. If I remember correctly, I think this one was 2 photos.In my camera bag
At the moment, my camera bag doesn't really include anything. I don't have a bag or a box. All of my cameras and lenses have actually been Stolen. The few broken cameras I recently acquired, are in storage awaiting repair. Most recently, when I did have cameras to work with, I carried an EOS 7D, & a 7D Full Spectrum. With an M42 mount, 16mm Zenitar, & EF 50mm STM, with the 1:1 Macro converter. IR Pass, and ND Filters. And a 3 Headed modified, Speedlight 540-EZ as well as a 430EX. Next, I'll be using the FD 50mm 3.5 Macro. Which I will test quality with a much newer 1:1 Macro converter... (I don't yet know the quality.) I'll be repairing my two recently acquired broken cameras, EOS 7D, And 40D... which still need batteries and repair parts as well as Filters, and I Plan on modifying another flash. (I've been planning on building my own version of the MP-E 65mm, which I plan on building out of a Helicoid Macro tube, and a Microscope Objective, with hopes of even better quality.)Feedback
Use a medium to somewhat fast ISO, in order to allow for a faster shutter speed than you might otherwise expect, at life size and closer, you can easily get Motion blur even at 1/300 of a second. I like to use a Good Pro-Sumer, or Professional Camera, because of ease of use while in Manual Mode. Use Good glass, diffuse lighting, The Canon and Nikon dual head macro flash units are Awesome, but Learn flash compensation. and shoot in the shade, or partially en-shadowed… Don't use the direct Sun for lighting, it's too harsh, its much better to use the entire sky for lighting, its much more diffuse. A plane White sheet can also be used to diffuse mid-day sunlight. Also, Don't photograph through any kind of protective glass. This degrades quality of photos. When Applied to venomous creatures like Rattle Snakes, however: I do not endorse, suggest, advise, or even condone taking any photograph like this one! I know these animals, have experience with venomous creatures, and I know what I'm doing, Rattlesnakes are highly venomous, and dangerous. This species, the Western Diamondback, Actually claims more lives than any other snake, in All of the Americas. (Most deaths occur in Mexico due to lack of technology and medical availability.) In the USA alone however, the species is second only, to the Eastern Diamondback, because of human population on the east coast. In the event of a bite, hospitalization for rattlesnake bite is not cheap, or painless. That being said, In order to capture this image, Both patience and respect as well as deep behavioral understanding and experience with snakes and other venomous creatures, all played huge roles in my ability to get this close. Sometimes getting this close to the face of a rattler, takes an hour, other times, only 15 minutes. It's all about temperament, and current mood of the individual snake. I pay attention to everything that the snake tells me. In way of rattling, posture in the neck/body, as well as hissing, These are somewhat basic and well known methods of threat communication, but there is also lung puffing, head posture eye motion that you can take note of. I refrain from any quick motion, and I communicate my respect, simply by pulling back calmly and slowly, any time the snake conveys any level of discomfort. Paying great attention to minute differences of behavior, (or even emotion(?)) taking great note, as well as acting upon, those key moments of behavior flipping. It's the moment hey tuck the rattler safely under the body, the moment they relax the neck, or lowering the head to rest on the body. Or when they suddenly stop hissing, and when, 20 minutes later, they suddenly appear smaller. Each moment, is one that I move in closer.. Just close enough to cause a minor threat, or defensive motion, action... or concerned or inquisitive thought.
