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It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thread..

Posted: March 2nd, 2014, 10:04 am
by krismunk
... so here's another one ;)

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Feel free to add for our viewing pleasure :D

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 2nd, 2014, 10:18 am
by Soopaman
Copper in December 2013:

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 2nd, 2014, 10:55 am
by Owen
Just to mix it up a little: Dicamptodon ensatus larva:

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 2nd, 2014, 1:24 pm
by chrish
Better define what you mean by in situ again.

Otherwise you end up with a bunch of posed animals taken in "somewhat natural" habitats or even faked habitats.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 2nd, 2014, 1:27 pm
by chrish
Here's an in situ shot of a Spring Peeper.

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I was standing thigh deep in freezing cold water on a 45° rainy day in a pair of jeans and wet tennis shoes.....just to get a peeper shot :? .
(Actually, Peepers are an "exotic" species to me since I live at least 150 miles out of their range).

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 2nd, 2014, 1:56 pm
by Antonsrkn
Any excuse to look at pretty photos is good for me!

A really simple shot but I like it.

Yellow Bellied Puddle Frog (Occidozyga laevis)
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/26500525@N ... 5325558134

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 3rd, 2014, 1:53 am
by krismunk
chrish wrote:Better define what you mean by in situ again.

Otherwise you end up with a bunch of posed animals taken in "somewhat natural" habitats or even faked habitats.
Hmmm... I was hoping I didn't have to but alright, here goes...

For the purpose of this thread I will define an in situ shot as any photography in which the subject has not been moved, handled or posed in any way. Nor have the surroundings been altered subsequent to the find for the purpose of obtaining a better photograph. This means that photos of baby herps with coins nearby most likely are not in situ. Photos of flipped animals otoh may very well be.

I know this definition is quite vague and leaves room for interpretation (e.g. is only natural light acceptable? (my answer: no)) but I don't really want to go into an extended discussion about the subject or spend too much time phrasing anything more exact and I think it should suffice in this context. If not, oh well...

Further, regarded as in situ shots for me the best are those where the animal shows no obvious reaction to the photographer's presence and no alteration of the surroundings has been necessary to find the animals (e.g. defensive postures and pictures of flipped animals are not particularly interesting from this perspective).

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 3rd, 2014, 10:16 am
by Antonsrkn
I always like photos showing inter species interactions.

There isn't much interaction going on here beyond just sharing the same branch but i still thought it was cool.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 3rd, 2014, 10:21 am
by justinm
Anton,

This was a pretty cool inter species interaction. It was in the Fall and getting cool, nights in the high 40's. These snakes are sitting out front of their den. They slipped away after the flash went off. Link to a bigger version. http://flic.kr/p/emaHhz


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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 3rd, 2014, 11:10 am
by krismunk
No actual inter species interaction here but plenty of intra species interaction with at least the presence of a second species:

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 3rd, 2014, 3:36 pm
by chrish
Antonsrkn wrote:Any excuse to look at pretty photos is good for me!

A really simple shot but I like it.

Yellow Bellied Puddle Frog (Occidozyga laevis)
That's really nice.

I have a similar shot of a different species -

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 3rd, 2014, 3:40 pm
by Soopaman
This is my favorite in-situ shot I've taken. I have another taken from the other side that doesn't have the foliage in the way and the face is better lit, but I didn't ever feel it had the character that this shot did. (Other shot, for reference)

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 8:16 am
by chrish
OK, here's one from Botswana.

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I actually spotted this smallish (6 feet?) Nile Croc in the vegetation just a few feet off shore where we were camped one night. Because of the angle of the croc and some obstructing tree branches, I couldn't light it myself so I convinced my cousin to come down to the water's edge to help me take a photo. I didn't dare tell her what I was photographing and she told me later she figured it was an owl or something. I made her hold the flash and fired the shot. After I felt confident I had a shot (this was in the days before digital where you got no immediate feedback), I pointed out the crocodile just a few feet off from where we were standing. She was less than pleasantly surprised :shock: . I guess she had seen all those shows where the croc jumps out of the water and drags the struggling wildebeest into the river. This little guy was a few years from wildebeest dragging, but any rabbits that came for a drink were in for an unpleasant surprise!

Strangely, that's the last time my cousin agreed to come hold the flash for me? ;)

Now that I think about it, there aren't many wild crocodilian shots that aren't in situ.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 8:30 am
by krismunk
Another one in the water at night with flash - this one sans uneasy cousins.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 1:01 pm
by monklet
Haven't really got a lot of honest in situs and this isn't a super image but it came to mind with the theme and it was one heck of a pretty Great Basin Gophersnake. I think it's a gravid female soaking up some morning heat on a 90F trail.
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Here's a not so in situ photo of same (apologize for breech of theme).
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 4:03 pm
by chrish
monklet wrote:Here's a not so in situ photo of same (apologize for breech of theme).
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With an animal that beautiful, you would be doing us a disservice by not including another photo, posed or not. Wow! :shock:

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 4:13 pm
by monklet
chrish wrote:Wow! :shock:
Thx Chris ...that's what I said and I'm a hardcore Pituophis afficianado :) I've only been to that locale once but aim to go back if the area ever gets rain. I'd love to know if that is typical of that area from anyone who goes there, but it's pretty remote. PM if interested.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 8:43 pm
by Tom Lott
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Broad-banded Copperhead, Atascosa County, Texas

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 8:51 pm
by Soopaman
Token road rat:

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 10:25 pm
by Antonsrkn
Anton,

This was a pretty cool inter species interaction. It was in the Fall and getting cool, nights in the high 40's. These snakes are sitting out front of their den. They slipped away after the flash went off. Link to a bigger version. http://flic.kr/p/emaHhz
Justin, that is a cool interaction, shows why in situ shots are valuable, if they were disturbed or manipulated theres no way that a shot like that could be captured.

Inter species interactions are awesome, but unfortunately I dont have many photos of that. So heres an in situ shot of a intra species interaction.
Giant River Frog (Limnonectes leporinus)
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The male is in the fore front and female is in the background, if I recall correctly I had already photographed the female a few minutes prior and had switched to the male. The female was unable to resist such an eligible bachelor (the frog, not me!) and moved into the same area while I was observing the male.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 4th, 2014, 10:53 pm
by krismunk
More anuran intra species interaction. I like the fact that the top male is calling while amplexed and struggling for the female with the second male.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 5th, 2014, 8:45 am
by Stohlgren
Little grass frog (Pseudacris ocularis). Both this species small size (one of the smallest vertebrates on the planet) and its habit of calling from within dense grass make getting calling shots difficult. I was pretty happy to get some good shots (and video) of this guy after earning his trust by sitting in the water next to him for 15-20 mins.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 5th, 2014, 11:53 am
by chrish
Kevin,

That is pretty amazing. Those little buggers are hard to get staged photographs of, let alone an in situ.

Here's another grass caller I have struggled to get in situ photos of -

Gastrophryne olivacea

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 5th, 2014, 3:07 pm
by Soopaman
My only in situ of a non-reptile, a marbled sal/newt McDouble flip:

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 5th, 2014, 3:47 pm
by Antonsrkn
This giant river toad was sitting next to a waterfall pretty high up on a steep slippery rock surface. I tried to figure out how I could get up there with my camera but couldn't figure out any good way. So I took my telephoto lens and snapped a few shots using that, the only time I have used a telephoto lens to photograph a toad, he wasnt going anywhere so I played around a little with various settings. This natural light shot was my favorite despite the heavy shadow underneath his face, but i kinda like the effect, he reminds me of a gargoyle. After finishing photographing him from below I stashed my camera gear and undertook the climb up to the toad and about halfway up the foothold I found wasn't adequate and I fell/slid off the rockface into the pool of water below and got a few bruises to show for my trouble. I did manage to get to the toad on my second attempt.
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 5th, 2014, 11:01 pm
by frogfish
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DSC_0880 by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
In-situ dusky pygmy

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DSC_0896 by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
In-situ Everglades Racer

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 6th, 2014, 6:53 am
by krismunk
No rule without an exception I guess.

I wrote above that I prefer in situ shots where the animal doesn't visibly react to the photographer. Nonetheless I rather like this one even though I'm pretty sure the little guy is on to me :lol:

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 6th, 2014, 7:12 am
by Stohlgren
Not the greatest shots as the battle didn't last long, I had the wrong lens, the vegetation was thick, and the lighting was harsh (is that enough excuses?), but this was the coolest thing I witnessed in the field last year. The opaque individual had a clear size advantage and won this battle pretty easily, though I don't know how long it was going on before we arrived. There was another indigo snake (presumably a female) in the burrow closest to where this battle was taking place.

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A very short video here, for those that may be interested:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kstohlgren ... likes_hd=1

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 6th, 2014, 7:23 am
by Soopaman
Very cool, Kevin! Indigos are always awesome and it's nice you were able to capture such an event. Even with harsh lighting the first photo looks great.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 6th, 2014, 9:09 am
by JAMAUGHN
Nothing says "in situ" like a big tangle of thorny brambles:

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San Francisco Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) Mating Ball by J. Maughn, on Flickr

Great thread, by the way. That Indigo battle is mind-boggling. What a thing to see!
JimM

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 6th, 2014, 4:45 pm
by Antonsrkn
Andean Marsupial Frog (Gastrotheca riobambae)
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 7th, 2014, 4:54 am
by krismunk
Another bad photo but always a sight worth documenting and not something you want to disturb.

The subject is the same old friend as in the opening picture of the thread only this time she's blending genes with a suitor for the benefit of the next generation.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 7th, 2014, 4:01 pm
by Stohlgren
Here are some more mating snakes. This was the second time I saw timber rattlesnakes mating last summer. The first time I spooked them before I spotted them as they were in dense vegetation, and the female quickly shot under a boulder. This time I was able to spot them from a good distance and was able to get plenty of photos without disturbing them.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 7th, 2014, 4:02 pm
by Kevin Price
Here's my latest find, a Rosy Boa Lichanura trivirgata. I was in Baja California east of Tecate about a week ago photographing some Native American rock art and did some exploring. Came across this coming out from under the rock. It never moved, except for its tongue, and everyone else with me got to shoot it. All were non-herpers but very interested. Was able to explain NAFHA and the database to them as well. I left it just I found it.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 7th, 2014, 6:24 pm
by umop apisdn
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Plethodon yonahlossee from NC as it begins to emerge from its refuge at nightfall.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 8th, 2014, 7:52 am
by Antonsrkn
Great shots all around, I especially like that last Plethodon yonahlossee, its tough to photograph salamanders in-situ. I looked and I just have 3-4 images of gummy lizards that can qualify.

A quasi in-situ I didn't manipulate the salamander in any way but I did flip it, the sal didnt care and just continued about its business.
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A purer in-situ where neither the sal nor its environment were manipulated by me.
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 9th, 2014, 5:18 am
by Stohlgren
I think this is my favorite photo from last year. This is probably just a day or two post-birth.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 9th, 2014, 5:54 am
by chrish
Stohlgren wrote:I think this is my favorite photo from last year. This is probably just a day or two post-birth.

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I can see why. That is really neat photo. I didn't notice the baby at first until I read your description.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 9th, 2014, 7:41 am
by hellihooks
As flipped...but you can't get any more interactive than this...
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only snapped one shot, and left them to their business... :oops: jim

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 9th, 2014, 11:44 am
by Joshua Jones
All of my best in situ shots last year were of turtles. The painted turtles were more difficult, due to their tendency to disappear when I was still a ways off.

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Painted Turtle by crotalus_cerberus83, on Flickr

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Painted Turtle by crotalus_cerberus83, on Flickr

This wood turtle was the exact opposite, though, and just kept on slowly making his way down toward the water source I was originally checking when my girlfriend spotted him.

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Wood Turtle by crotalus_cerberus83, on Flickr

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 9th, 2014, 2:15 pm
by The Jake-Man
PA Eastern Newt
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PA Wood Turtle
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 9th, 2014, 2:19 pm
by krismunk
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 10th, 2014, 6:30 am
by Stohlgren
chrish wrote:I can see why. That is really neat photo. I didn't notice the baby at first until I read your description.
Thanks, Chris. Here is a zoomed out view of that scene. There were at least six young, and the female on the right has not yet dropped hers.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 10th, 2014, 6:34 am
by chrish
Here's an "as you spot them" in situ of a young Bogertophis subocularis on a road cut -

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 10th, 2014, 8:55 am
by krismunk
Not a great shot but sometimes in situ pics can be interesting as documentation of behaviour even when the photographic quality leaves something to be desired. Lytorhynchus diadema are nocturnal lizard hunters preying on Acanthodactylus lizards sleeping in their burrows. This one was found like this, located by following its tracks (which can be quite difficult when they make a huge messy criss cross of tracks as they try to pick up the scent of their prey).

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It came up empty handed. The main survival strategy of the lizards is having several of burrows so the odds of a random burrow being in use on a random night are pretty slim.

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 10th, 2014, 7:39 pm
by yoloherper
I'll add to the mating behavior pictures with these racers found in a small oak tree
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 10th, 2014, 9:29 pm
by Antonsrkn
I'm loving all the behavioral shots that show off various pats of the lifecycle whether its vocalizing, breeding, hunting or whatnot. I think this is why in-situ shots are cool we dont get to see these behaviors once we disturb the animals.

An older shot of tungara frogs making their foam nest
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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 11th, 2014, 1:55 am
by krismunk
Another odd little piece of behaviour; normally viviparous lizards are exclusively terrestrial (as all other lacertids I can think of) yet we found this one like this, quietly chilling on the surface of a large pond. I have no idea what it was doing out there.

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When I moved after taking this picture the little guy was startled and made a dive for it :lol:

Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 11th, 2014, 6:33 am
by Stohlgren
Ornate chorus frog. This species typically calls from grasses at the edge of wetlands but for some reason this individual was calling from an open, sandy, mud flat.

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Re: It's been too long since we've had an in situ theme thre

Posted: March 11th, 2014, 8:26 pm
by umop apisdn
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Greenish rat holding still, just outside of its stumphole.