The beauty of snakes - Houston Zoo

Red-Tailed Green Rat Snake, 55mm, f/4.5, 1/60

Everyone of us has some irrational fear of some sort, I do to. I used to be afraid of sharks and to a smaller degree, of snakes. Their beauty helped me overcome my fear. Both families are just fascinating. I have traded fear for caution.

Snakes are shy, they usually run away before you can even notice them. They will only attack at the last resort, although some are more aggressive than others. Inland Taipan, notorious to be the most poisonous snake inland will give a warning bite before injecting venom.

Copperhead, 55mm, f/3.5, 1/25s

Snakes can be lethal and therefore must be approached with extreme caution. I chose the easy option by  always keeping a glass between us (if they are poisonous) or by staying far away.

Snakes are also one the most beautiful creations of Mother Nature. I was amazed by the patterns and colors I discovered. Snakes are just masters in the art of camouflage and thanks to a very knowledgeable Houston Zoo's herpetology staff, I was immersed in a world I had no idea it existed. Having a passion for photography helped me taking the time to appreciate what I was seeing. Get close and stop for a while.

Composition improvements

Rule of Thirds, 22mm, f/13

I invested in a telephoto zoom, 70-200 mm, just before going on a safari and I spent most of my time shooting wildlife portraits or at least close shots. Not having the luxury of possessing two camera bodies, I was reluctant changing lens every other minute, by fear of missing some action and also concerned by the amount of dust in the air. I had to switch to a wide angle lens when I saw these two peaceful zebras which would be a perfect addition to a landscape picture of the Masaï Mara reserve in Kenya.
I knew parts of the famous Rule of Thirds which stipulates that the main subject should be aligned to, or be positioned at the intersection of arbitrary lines dividing the frame in nine equal parts as shown in the picture. What I didn't know, is that each intersection does not have the same power and corner 1 should be preferred to any other one, while corner 4 should only be considered last. These rules are of course meant to be broken but I find that paying attention to this detail adds a lot to the overall effect and improves the composition. In this example, not only the zebras are not placed appropriately, they also lead the viewer outside of the frame. A more pleasant picture was obtained when I cropped it three years after framing the shot. Landscape photography does not necessarily mean wide angle.

Masai Mara, Kenya

Birds of Prey at Grouse Mountain - British Columbia

Golden Eagle flying over the crowd, Grouse Mountain - 190mm, f/4.5, 1/3200s

Bald Eagle

Birds of Prey are majestic creatures difficult to observe in the wild. I have always been fascinated by their ability to fly so fast, without the associated noise pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. With patience, a good set of binoculars and a telephoto lens, I am sure it is quite possible to observe their hunting skills while taking close-up shots. I haven't been very successful so far. Close-up shots are possible in most zoos but you will miss seeing them fly. In the wild, I saw many falcons and eagles, but they were quite far away.
During our trip to Vancouver, last summer, we climbed Grouse Mountain and we were very surprised to learn they had a falconry show called "Birds in Motion". For the first time, I could see birds of prey flying very close to me. They will fly over your head and you will only feel the air displacement. The Peregrin Falcon was way too fast for me and I didn't get a shot "in motion". Perhaps I should go back to Brazos Bend and practice more with flying birds.



                   Bald Eagle                                    Peregrin Falcon                                    Red-Tailed Awk