Golden-striped Salamander (Chioglossa lusitanica) - Spain, May 2012

San Esteban Chuckwalla (Sauromalus varius) by Rob Schell Photography, on Flickr

Scarlet-webbed Treefrog (Hypsiboas rufitelus)

Nikon D7000
Nikon 105mm 2.8 Micro
f/4.5
1/40 sec
ISO-320

1 SB-200 fired at a 45° from the front right
1 SB-200 fired at a 45° from behind and left of the frog

-Don
http://www.rainforestdon.com

Bogertophis subocularis - Trans Pecos ratsnake by michaelrayspencer, on Flickr

Granite Spiny Lizard by Ted306, on Flickr

Rubber Boa (Charina bottae)

Sierra Garter Snake



Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2, wide angle conversion lens, 14mm


Nicholas

Scarlet-webbed Treefrog (Hypsiboas rufitelus)
Subadult
El Valle, Panama
June 2012

Nikon D7000
Nikon 105mm micro
f/5.6
1/80 sec
ISO-200

Photo taken outside in the daytime with a minimal amount of fill flash

-Don
http://www.rainforestdon.com

Crotalus molossus molossus - Northern blacktail rattlesnake by michaelrayspencer, on Flickr

Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus - Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake
Nikon D90
Tokina 100mm Macro
1/30 sec exposure (no flash)

Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) by Zach Truelock, on Flickr

Incubating a Coyote turd.



Sceloporus occidentalis bocourti hatchling
Sony SLT-A77
Sigma 150mm f2.8 Macro HSM OS
1/640 sec
f/9
ISO-125

Nerodia fasciata pictiventris - Florida banded watersnake by michaelrayspencer, on Flickr

Western Banded Gecko, LA County, California
Nikon D90
Phoenix Ring flash -1 EC
Tokina 100mm macro
1/200 sec
F/16

Sceloporus uniformis - Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard
D90, Tokina 100mm macro lens (F/8)
Mini-mag flashlight.

killer speck and blacktail shot... too bad that watermark is right on its face:/

Micrurus tener tener (Texas Coral Snake) by Kyle L.E., on Flickr

Sony DSC-WX9
No flash, external headlamp light source.

Foothill Yellow-legged Frog (Rana boylii) that had just surfaced after jumping into the creek moments earlier.



Sony SLT-A77
Sigma 150mm f2.8 OS SSM Macro
ISO-200
1/100 sec
f/8
handheld

Desert Striped Whipsnake, Coluber taeniatus taeniatus


Desert Striped Whipsnake, Coluber taeniatus taeniatus by J. Maughn, on Flickr

Olympus Pen E-PL 1
M. Zuiko 40-150mm

Jim, really nice snake and photo!

Thanks!

A 63" male C. adamanteus from a couple days ago.



Sony A77 on tripod
Sony 100mm macro
f/4
1/320
ISO 400
Two off-camera flashes with Lumiquest softbox III's attached (can't remember the settings but set very low).One sitting on a log camera right and one hand held camera left. Both were aimed slightly behind the snake to light up some shadows.

Wow this is a monster of a buzztail. Do you have any shots that show it's size in comparison?

No, unfortunately I do not.

I didn't have a difuser with me, so pardon the harsh shadows as this guy was in the shady woodland part of the trail. Just curious which you like better since the one that appears tilted is actually the one with the level horizon (my Sony SLT-A77 has a horizon indicator):

I definitely prefer the second photo, Owen. The horizon checker is great when doing landscapes or when the ground is actually level, but I don't think it works in this situation. If the snakes head and neck had been level with the horizon, so it actually looked like it was on a hill, it might have worked better though.

Something from Australia.

Juvenile Ctenophorus caudicinctus.


Juvenile Ctenophorus caudicinctus by R. Francis, on Flickr

Another one from Australia.

Mertens Water Monitor (Varanus mertensi), These guys are found near most waterways across Northern Australia.


Varanus mertensi by R. Francis, on Flickr

Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis

Last snake of the month (this morning).

Crotalus oreganus oreganus

Sony SLT-A77
Sigma 150mm f2.8 HSM OS Macro
Sony HVL=F36AM Flash with Graslon Prodigy difuser



Sad thing is that I photographed it going out, but when I came back, there was a two foot long stick where it was laying. Looks like someone did something to it in the hour and a half or so when I was hiking.

well kids, i'm finally going to "learn" my camera. i've gotten some decent pictures, but it was not by anything i have done. i got lucky. i noticed the blur of my handshake on overcast days. i have a longer lens so my shutter speed is reduced in low light. because of this, i bought a nice tripod. now it's time to learn. there is so much to know and do. anyhow, here's one of my favorites. i like how the rattle is out of focus, and the sun brightens each rattle segment. it was a pretty sweet black timber with an amazingly dark red stripe down the back. my next adventure will be photo editing. this same shot could use a little work i think.



-ben

That's a really nice timber, Ben. Neat pose and set up. The one thing to make this an awesome shot would be to make that timber's eye clearly in focus.

yeah, it's by no means perfect. it was taken in short order, and without a tripod. i plan to edit it eventually to see if i can make it better. the snake was restless, so it was one of those situations where you get what you get. it was a gravid female, so we didn't want to mess with it for very long. the only reason we did was the fact that it was black. it was an amazing snake. i was hoping to find it this spring, but no luck. i just hope it makes it through the summer. i'd really like to see it on a sunny day in the early spring when they sit coiled up for pictures. i've posted this in other threads, but here is the entire snake, so you can see the black/deep red stripe.



-ben

While I can't condone messing with a gravid female timber, just because she's pretty, I am curious what your camera settings were on this shot (shutter speed, aperture, ISO), so as to possibly offer some critique. It is an interesting perspective, but unfortunately it is not in crisp focus. I am not sure if this is from a slow shutter speed or the focus being locked somewhere other than the head/eye. Post processing this shot could help, but will not make this shot as good as it could be if it was in sharp straight out of the camera. It looks like it was a bright and sunny day, so you should not have been limited by what shutter speeds you could shoot at, regardless of lens.

I really like that second shot where you can see more of the body. It's much crisper too.

The timbers around here have a rusty stripe down there back, but are more a slate grey than charcoal like that one. Very good find, hope you can keep up with her.

i agree with the crispness of the send shot. i like the first only because i like how the grass and rattle are blurred. as far as the black one goes, that one is atypical of this location. here is typical.



-ben

I must say, Ben, I prefer the blacker Timber!


This is probably the best looking Texas Rat Snake I've ever had my hands on:

Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri (Texas Rat Snake) by Kyle L.E., on Flickr

Canon Rebel XSI
Canon 18-55mm kit lens

Clay-colored Rain Frog (Pristimantis cerasinus)
I just love those eyes. This is a juvenile, approx 20mm.



Nikon D7000
Nikon 105mm micro
f/22
1/250 sec
ISO 250
Exposure mode- manual
Meter mode- spot
Flash- uh, yeah...

-Don
http://www.RainforestDon.com

Don, very, very nice photograph of the frog. I like that there isn't any light reflection in the eyes.


Here's a milksnake feeling tough:


Lampropeltis triangulum amaura (Louisian milk snake) by Kyle L.E., on Flickr

Canon Rebel XSI
Canon 100mm macro f2.8 lens
Pop-up flash

Here's an old one I rediscovered on the hard drive the other day. From a technical standpoint it certainly isn't the best photo, but I thought the subject was pretty cool

Brown Vine Snake (Oxybelis aeneus)

This is from the Rara Avis Rainforest Reserve in the north Caribbean foothills of Costa Rica.



Nikon D3000
Nikon 105mm micro
f/13
1/120 sec
ISO-400
no flash

-Don
www.RainforestDon.com

Neonate Texas Rat Snake from last night:

Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri (Texas Rat Snake) by Kyle L.E., on Flickr

Canon Rebel XSI
Canon 100mm macro f2.8 lens
Popup flash

Sonoran Lyresnake

Yellow Dying Rainfrog (Diasporus citrinobapheus)
Parque Nacional Omar Torrijos, El Cope, Panama
Sept, 2012



This species of rainfrog was very recently described (May, 2012) from the mountains of western Panama. Due to their call, Diasporus are commonly referred to as the tink frogs. In Central America, the calls of this genus can often be the most commonly heard sound during a night in the rainforest.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 105mm micro
Nikon SB-700 / R1 flash kit
f/11
1/160 sec
ISO-320
meter mode- spot

Pura Vida,

-Don
http://www.RainforestDon.com

Hyloscirtus colymba



It is with a heavy heart that I say once again, this is a species of anuran that is critically endangered. Hyloscirtus colymba was yet another victim ravaged by the Bd fungus. They (along with H. palmeri) are stream specialists found in lowland and premontane wet forests in Costa Rica and Panama (possibly Colombia). H. colymba calls from underneath rocks, often submerged, in rivers- prime habitat for the infectious stage of the chytrids fungus The genus Hyloscirtus is unique from other hylids in having a greenish white mental gland. This specimen was found at approx 750 m asl. While it was a privilege to encounter this species in the wild, this individual did show tell tale signs of infection.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 105mm micro
Nikon SB-700 / R1 flash kit
f/29
1/250 sec
ISO-200
Meter mode- center weighted

-Don
http://www.RainforestDon.com

focal length 200mm
ISO-100
shutter speed 1/250
F/5.6

i know very little about cameras, but would like to know more. this was not on a tripod. i was zoomed in as far as i could go. anything you can suggest would be great. as far as messing with a gravid female, it wasn't me. actually i scold my friend when he does it.

-ben

In stark contrast to the lousy Coral photo I posted from a while back, here's this one taken today:


Micrurus tener tener (Texas Coral Snake) by Kyle L.E., on Flickr

Manual Focus
f/8.0
ISO 800
100mm Macro Lens
No Flash

Kyle, that's a great shot! I'm a huge fan of Micrurus.

-Don
www.RainforestDon.com

Thanks, Don. Micrurus are great snakes. I'd love to see some of the South American species some time.

What camera and lens? You should be able to manage a sharp shot at 1/250sec at 200mm, but you may just need some practice steadying yourself. Sharpness looks better on your second shot, but looks as though critical focus was on the neck, rather than the eye. If you keep having problems with motion blur, I would recommend upping your ISO to increase your shutter speed. Regardless of what camera you should be able to jump up to ISO 400 without much noise creeping in. It is a beautiful snake you've got there, but sharpness (or lack there of) can make or break an image.

You just need to keep working to see what settings you need to get the desired sharpness. It is all about trade-offs. If you know you need a certain shutter speed to get a sharp photo while hand holding, you are going to have to open up your aperture or up the ISO. If you want more depth of field, you need to use a slower shutter speed or again, up the ISO. This is why lugging around your tripod can be worth it, as it gives you more flexibility. In this shot below, I was able to shoot at 1/40sec, f/13, and ISO 400 because I had brought my tripod along. If i had not brought it, I would not have been able to get the image I wanted.

Tungara Frog (Engystomops pustulosus)
Tropical Station La Gamba, La Gamba, Costa Rica



Nikon D7000
Nikon 105mm micro
Nikon SB-700 / R1C1 macroflash kit
f/22
1/250 sec
ISO- 320
Meter mode- Spot

-Don
www.RainforestDon.com