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Lizards and Snakes

tyflier

tyflier

[Insert Witty Commentary]
Some recent "finds" in the field...

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Common Sideblotch--Uta stansburiana

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Western Sagebrush--Sceloporus graciosus graciosus

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Mojave Desert Sidewinder--Crotalus cerastes cerastes

whiptail1.jpg

Great Basin Whiptail--Aspidocelis tigris tigris

And a landscape...
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Wild Iris Windstorm

(I know the flowers are blurry. I did it on purpose...)

Thanks for looking!
 
your pictures are just incredible, as always. thanks for sharing them with us! do you take hundreds of pictures to get that one perfect shot, or are they all so nice?
 
GREAT pics, as usual. :)
I always love seeing cerastes!
And kudos on getting a photo of a whiptail. I could never manage to snap a pic before they bolted. Admittedly, I didn't have a very good camera, so I had to get pretty close.
 
Thanks everyone!

lefty_mussolini said:
GREAT pics, as usual. :)
I always love seeing cerastes!
And kudos on getting a photo of a whiptail. I could never manage to snap a pic before they bolted. Admittedly, I didn't have a very good camera, so I had to get pretty close.
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This is as close as I've gotten to a "good" shot of a whiptail. There are TONS of them in my backyard, but I can never get a shot off before they get running. This guy happened to be munching on some sort of grub which gave me just enough time to squat down and lift the camera for a shot. It helps that I was using a 300mm lens. I was roughly 3feet from him for this shot...

cobained said:
your pictures are just incredible, as always. thanks for sharing them with us! do you take hundreds of pictures to get that one perfect shot, or are they all so nice?
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Not hundreds, but a few. I'm fairly good with my exposure values, especially if I plan on converting to B&W, so I don;t waste a ton of shots. For the landscape, I took a LOT of shots at varying exposure values, showing varying levels of blur. Not because I needed to make sure I got the exposure right, but because I was using different aperture and shutterspeed combinations to get the "right" amount of blur on the iris.

rickmoss95 said:
great shots!! did you take the last one yourself? very cool pics!
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I took them all. I'm a semi-pro photographer, and I sell more landscapes than anything else. B&W landscapes are my "specialty", I guess, meaning I shoot more landscapes in B&W than in color because I prefer B&W to color in 99% of instances. I won't post a shot taken by someone else without giving credit where it is due...

Thanks again, everyone, for taking the time to look and comment!
 
desertanimal said:
I love the first sidewinder.
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That sidewinder was fast asleep in the middle of the road. It was fairly cool, and you can tell from the shadows that the sun was just going down. She was out like a light. She didn;t wake up until after I moved her off the road and stuck up underneath a bush in the desert. Then she gave me a quick buzz, but she slept through the pictures and moving...
 
tyflier said:
That sidewinder was fast asleep in the middle of the road. It was fairly cool, and you can tell from the shadows that the sun was just going down. She was out like a light. She didn;t wake up until after I moved her off the road and stuck up underneath a bush in the desert. Then she gave me a quick buzz, but she slept through the pictures and moving...
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Wow! I didn't know they'd fall so deeply asleep that you can handle them and they won't wake up (I've never brumated a snake, btw)! That's amazing--and cool. I love that first lizard, too. What a pretty creature it is.
 
Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z) said:
Wow! I didn't know they'd fall so deeply asleep that you can handle them and they won't wake up (I've never brumated a snake, btw)! That's amazing--and cool. I love that first lizard, too. What a pretty creature it is.
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She wasn't brumating, just sleeping. Looks like she crawled out into the road to get some warmth from the blacktop, fell asleep, and got incredibly lucky that my car was the first to encounter her.

I've found them sleeping, semi-buried in the sand in the desert, and they don;t wake up unless you make a LOT of vibration on the ground around them. They seem to be fairly heavy sleepers in my experience...
 
wow! i cant stop looking at that landscape photo...that is amazing!!! what kind of camera do you use(or camera's)? i am looking at the nikon d5100 and i am not sure what lens i will buy first. i am thinking a macro because i really like the close up detail shots, but that landscape one is amazing....i really think the black and white makes that photo extra special. it really does something for the psychological aspect of it for me, if that makes any sense to you...anyways, i love that shot, and that style. i like the way you set your settings so the flowers look like they are moving a little, really cool shot! do you leave the aperature open longer for that effect?
 
rickmoss95 said:
wow! i cant stop looking at that landscape photo...that is amazing!!! what kind of camera do you use(or camera's)? i am looking at the nikon d5100 and i am not sure what lens i will buy first. i am thinking a macro because i really like the close up detail shots, but that landscape one is amazing....i really think the black and white makes that photo extra special. it really does something for the psychological aspect of it for me, if that makes any sense to you...anyways, i love that shot, and that style. i like the way you set your settings so the flowers look like they are moving a little, really cool shot! do you leave the aperature open longer for that effect?
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I use an Olympus E-520. Right now I have 3 lenses; Zuiko 14-42mm f/3-4.5 for landscapes and such, Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, and a Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 DG macro for snakes and flowers.

I like Olympus WAY better than Canon or Nikon. Consider that an Olympus camera has image stabilizing in the camera, not the lens, so every lens is IS. Canon and Nikon charge more for IS lenses, and only IS lenses areimage stabilized. Also, a mid-range Olympus, like mine, costs about half of what a comparable Nikon or Canon cost, and if you factor every lens for a Nikon or Canon must be IS in order to really compare, the price difference becomes astronomical.

I have been shooting with olympus cameras and Zuiko lenses since the mid 80's without ever having any issues or problems.

And your aperture is the little opening in the lens...the "pupil" so to speak. A wider aperture lets in more light but decreases depth of field. A more narrow aperture decreases the amount of light getting the sensor, but increases depth of field. For this shot I used f/22 which is a very narrow aperture, and a 1second shutt speed to get the blur on the flowers. Shgutterspeed is what controls how long your shutter is open for, and how long your exposure takes to complete.
 
i will look into the olympus cameras for sure. thanks for the advise and how to tips. im down for saving some money on something that is every bit as good!
 
tyflier said:
I use an Olympus E-520. Right now I have 3 lenses; Zuiko 14-42mm f/3-4.5 for landscapes and such, Zuiko 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, and a Sigma EX 105mm f/2.8 DG macro for snakes and flowers.

I like Olympus WAY better than Canon or Nikon. Consider that an Olympus camera has image stabilizing in the camera, not the lens, so every lens is IS. Canon and Nikon charge more for IS lenses, and only IS lenses areimage stabilized. Also, a mid-range Olympus, like mine, costs about half of what a comparable Nikon or Canon cost, and if you factor every lens for a Nikon or Canon must be IS in order to really compare, the price difference becomes astronomical.

I have been shooting with olympus cameras and Zuiko lenses since the mid 80's without ever having any issues or problems.

And your aperture is the little opening in the lens...the "pupil" so to speak. A wider aperture lets in more light but decreases depth of field. A more narrow aperture decreases the amount of light getting the sensor, but increases depth of field. For this shot I used f/22 which is a very narrow aperture, and a 1second shutt speed to get the blur on the flowers. Shgutterspeed is what controls how long your shutter is open for, and how long your exposure takes to complete.
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You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to tyflier again.


Great post man! We have a t2i and want to get better lenses one day, but your advise may be the way for us to go now in order to save us from spending a fortune...needlessly.
:cheers:
 
Awesome photos, but I think there's a bit too much shadowing in them... but then again, I'm using a crappy PC with an old, bulky 4:3 screen hooked to it. :rolleyes:


Also great post on the camera you use. I'm looking around a bit for a new camera now and what you use is catching my attention much more than anything I've checked out.
 
ShenziSixaxis said:
Awesome photos, but I think there's a bit too much shadowing in them... but then again, I'm using a crappy PC with an old, bulky 4:3 screen hooked to it. :rolleyes:


Also great post on the camera you use. I'm looking around a bit for a new camera now and what you use is catching my attention much more than anything I've checked out.
Click to expand...

A bit too much shadowing? I'm really not sure I understand what that means. Shadows are caused by a light source, in this case, the sun. Shadows that occur from flash are usually harsh and direct. These are indirect shadows from the sun, and there really isn't a whole lot that can be done to remove shadows. I don't mind constructive criticism, but I don't even know what that's supposed to mean...
 
The shadows are definitely natural, but they seem too dark...

But like I said, I'm using one of those old, bulky screens right now so it probably looks just fine. I should really hook up the newish screen my brother brought over weeks ago.
 
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