First Rattlesnake of the year :-)

Well, I'm off in the southern coast of Texas working on a photography contest with another professional photography friend of mine, and part of the contest includes herps. So I am having a blast spending a couple hours mid day and mid evening working in the field collecting herps and what not, managed a couple lizard species thus far, and one snake (but a nice dangerous one!) C. Atrox, or commonly known - Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. I had been chasing this guy for two days after seeing him flee into a large pack of cactus. Then finding shedding from him the next morning. That afternoon it was ON and sure enough, I had to tip a deer stand but I got him!

http://reptileexperts.com/Crotpre.jpg

then after storing him in a sealed tub indoors with me under careful lock and key, we brought him out for some shots in a controlled natural setting where we could set lighting as needed . . .

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8532/8...2f6714cb_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8540/8...3bea7315_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8405/8...339ab6b1_c.jpg

and the big finale shot

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8263/8...7e0e51df_b.jpg

All in all a great snake to work with, and a real gem of a species. Venomous has always held a special place in my heart, and any time I get to work with a wild snake I am the happiest person alive

http://reptileexperts.com/_MG_9638.jpg

Cheers

That 4th picture is amazing!!

An outrage if that one doesn't win the contest :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8538/8...52c8ff97_c.jpg
Another shot from this morning

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8537/8...92da5dd6_c.jpg
and what happens when the rattlesnake decides it wants your camera . . . you go ahead and give it to him. This was moments before he bit the flash twice and almost decided to bite the lens! he was not a happy camper . . .

I had to save the one with the sun setting. That's beyond beautiful and needs to be made into a poster or something!!

Gorgeous snake and even better pics.

Beautiful snake and great pictures! Love me some Crotalus or any other rattler genus of any kind!

Thanks guys, the photoshoots went fairly well up until he decided to kill my flash! Part of the risks I suppose :-)

They always look so ticked off though...but love them!

Gorgeous shots there and there are few things more impressive than a pissy Rattler! If you don't mind me asking though, do you have a larger version of the 2nd picture? I'd love to use it for my desktop background.

Once again, great photo shoot and great find!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MisterKyte

Gorgeous shots there and there are few things more impressive than a pissy Rattler! If you don't mind me asking though, do you have a larger version of the 2nd picture? I'd love to use it for my desktop background.

Once again, great photo shoot and great find!

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www.flickr.com/codyconway the high rez is on there for people to access (not large print quality but higher than enough rez for HD monitors up to 1080p - even retina displays). Just find the image, click it, then click the zoom icon, then select original. Right click - set as desktop.

Thanks Guys!