SoCal Closeout and Arizona

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jamezevanz
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SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by jamezevanz »

This will probably be my last set from the Southwest for awhile, as I head north in a week, back home to Alaska. It’s been fun and the herps are the only thing that have made the heat and the traffic in this part of the country bearable. I’m hoping to see a few lifers that I missed last time I was in NorCal, Oregon and Washington on my way up so hopefully I’ll have something to post. After that I get start trying to dream up really creative ways to photograph wood frogs and bizarre localities to voucher them from.

First up, one of my favorite local snakes that I wanted better photos of. They are very uncooperative snakes to photograph and in the past I’ve usually given up without anything good to show for it. These were a little better, wish I had some of a high orange specimen I saw later but I was too tired to set up for anything good…

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I rarely see Lyre Snakes, but after seeing a few this year I think it’s just because they seem to come out later than everything else and I hadn’t been hitting rocky areas at those times in the past. Anyone have thoughts on this? I think every one I’ve seen was well after midnight.

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Words cannot express how excited I was to finally find a coachwhip, and a beautiful one at that. Coachwhips have been my white whale my entire stay in California. I’ve found sheds. I’ve seen more than a dozen DOR’s. I’ve screeched the car to a halt to chase phantoms and seen brownish/reddish tails disappear into the brush while hiking. But until this cloudy morning in the desert, groggily driving home after sleeping in my car, live coachwhips had completely eluded me. This gorgeous snake was stretched across the centerline and I was so relieved to find it in a healthy, un-flattened state. It was a surprisingly placid individual; I think it was still trying to get warm because it didn’t start trying to bite me until several minutes into our photo session. Some folks don’t seem to appreciate them, but they’re right up there with Mountain Kings and Rosies in my book.

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I think every herper in the Southwest was hitting Southeastern Arizona at the same time as me (Monsoons, duh!). Most seemed to have had more success and many of my target species eluded me yet again (DAMN YOU Gila Monster!!!!!). But it was still my most productive and enjoyable trip to that state and it pains me that I can’t justify making another run out there before I split. I learned a lot and got a much better feel for some of herping’s hallowed grounds. Even ran into students and instructors from the Southwest Research Station’s Herpetology Field Course. Seems we double-booked the Chiricahuas that week... Road cruising was a bit crowded for my tastes but it was nice to meet some like-minded folks.

First AZ Lifer was a Sonoran Desert Toad, which would be the first of many. I’ve wanted to see one for a while and somehow missed them on previous trips. If you have a chance and are so inclined, I recommend watching the segment Henry Rollins filmed about these toads on his (very good) NatGeo Channel series “Animal Underworld.” It was… enlightening.

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My first encounter with what I consider to be the most beautiful rattlesnake, the Blacktail. It’s another one I’ve looked for and failed to find in the past. A couple of other visiting herpers looking for them asked if I’d seen any and I got to feel all smug when I answered yes.

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Couch’s Spadefoots are always everywhere when it rains, in fact there were some calling and mating in the ditch behind my cheap motel in Tucson. Make my hands sting and my nose run every time I touch them. They are cute though.

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The last time I tried to photograph a Longnosed Snake in California, it was the most uncooperative creature I’ve ever encountered and I gave up with only one usable, albeit sub-par photo to show for it. The ones I met in Arizona were not only more comfortable in front of the camera, but they were much prettier than the ones I see in the desert out this way.

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Atrox were everywhere in great numbers, and while I’m not particularly excited to find them, they are a classic icon of the southwest and demand some photo love. Here are some I spent some time with.

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This was a fun one to light:

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I regretted not photographing the last Saddled Leaf Nosed Snake I found but was lucky enough to see another this trip. They’re so odd-looking compared to the spotted ones I see almost every outing in California.

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Finally saw a Black-Necked Garter. I think these are really nice looking garters. Now if I can just see one of those blue infernalis when I swing through Norcal…

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This Sonoran Gopher put on a great show for me at sunset. Getting bit in the face was worth it for a few shots like this:

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Rock Rattlesnakes aren’t as highly prized as the other small montane rattlers in AZ, but I think they’re better looking… OK Willardi look pretty good too, but since I could only find one, I’m as happy with this one as any. Very attractive and even smaller than I had imagined.

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The first Mohave I encountered this trip was so psychotically, frighteningly pissed-off that I didn’t even try to shoot it. I wasn’t even able to get a voucher for the database before it scooted under the lip of a culvert, moving at high speed and striking at me over it’s back as it did so. Seriously, seriously aggressive snake. This one was less aggressive but still very determined to move on and I obliged him after a couple photos. No need tempt fate twice.

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Relatively unexpected find, a Chihuahuan Hook Nosed Snake. One day I’d like to see their prettier cousins farther south but I get really tired of being stopped by border patrol and so stayed a bit too far north.

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A big target species that I did find was a Mexican Hognosed Snake. This is the first hognose I’ve ever seen in the wild. It did the play-dead thing pretty much the whole time, making photography difficult, but it was cool to see in person, especially the bit where they roll back over if you right them. Some herpers rolled up on me during the photo session and said they were looking for a female like this for their male and asked if they could keep it. Not sure if they were just a couple of casual hobbyists or if they were the shady type but went ahead and asserted my right of “finders releasers.” I’m not above keeping the occasional wild caught, but in most cases I prefer to see them slide into the grass after a photo shoot and you can never be too sure of what sorts of characters are out looking for critters. If they were good folks who just wanted a mate for their female, I hope they had luck finding their own. If they were out poaching piles of snakes, I hope they drove into a telephone pole.

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That’s all folks, thanks for looking.
Ecto Hunter
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Ecto Hunter »

That first coachwhip shot is awesome. Great post!
WW**
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by WW** »

Great photography! I love the "snakes at dusk" shots, esp the WDB and the Pituophis!
bgorum
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by bgorum »

Some outstanding images here! I really like the lighting on many of them. Care to share how you are lighting these?
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Joshua Jones
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Joshua Jones »

These photos are incredible! I agree with WW's assessment of the dusk shots, but even your shovelnose came out good. :beer:

I'm inclined to agree with you about the lyres, too. They were usually our signal to go home as they were always the last snakes out.
SnakeDude
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by SnakeDude »

:shock:

These have to be some of, if not THE BEST shots I've ever seen of herps ANYWHERE. The coach and gopher are absolutely stunning, and I love the hognose and blackneck garter too. AWESOME post.

Ian
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Rancorrye
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Rancorrye »

I'm speechless...These are some of my favorite photos I have seen. Love your style, very unique. Fantastic post!
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sep11ie
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by sep11ie »

Phenomenal photography.
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MattSullivan
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by MattSullivan »

great shots. My favorite are the spadefoot and the third hognose shot
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jamezevanz
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by jamezevanz »

Thanks all.
bgorum- Most were shot with a remote flash and a small softbox positioned above and to the side of the subject, at an angle that will give my subject dimension and personality as well as bleed nicely into the background. I adjust my flash output and shutter speed to balance ambient light with the flash. When it's dark out there's not much ambient light to work with. As you can see with the blacktail rattlesnake and some others, it's just a fade into black, but I try to make it a gentle fade, with soft shadows and working in as many habitat elements as possible. With the diamondback and the cacti, I got a little more elaborate. The flash technique is the same, but once I had the rattler curled up where I wanted him, I positioned my car so the headlights illuminated the vegetation from an angle. The ambient light in the sky is light pollution from Tucson in the distance. It was shot around midnight. The only available light shots are the high aspect ones of the coachwhip. I had nice diffused lighting from the cloudy sky that morning and didn't want to introduce any funky shadows or hot spots that would detract from the beautiful scalation and cracked earth. Most of all, composition and working with the subject to get the perfect moment. Once I've got the lighting and composition down, I rattle off as many shots as possible as quickly as possible because a turn of the head or flick of the tongue makes all the difference.
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Todd Pierson
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Todd Pierson »

These are really, really nice. What lens are you using? It looks like you're really close to that Thamnophis's face.
Reptiluvr
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Reptiluvr »

The wide angle shots are extraordinary! The first coachwhip one especially. I too want to know what lens you're using. Great job on the lighting!
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jamezevanz
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by jamezevanz »

Oh yeah, lenses: 17-35mm f2.8 on the wide shots and a 105mm macro on the tighter ones. There might be one or two medium shots with the 35-70mm as well, I think I busted it out for the blacktail and the coachwhip.
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SurfinHerp
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by SurfinHerp »

Excellent photos Jamez!

I especially like the second long-nosed snake you found - bright red! I've seen a couple from SD County that looked as good or better, so don't knock our locals ;)

I've found a good number of lyre snakes over the past few years. They're active almost anytime after sunset from my experience, but can definitely come out late. Earliest one I've seen was right at 8 PM, and the latest was maybe 2 AM.

By the way, I didn't know hook-nosed snakes have long tongues like a Crote!

We'll miss you here in So. Cal. and I hope you can come back and visit every so often.

Cheers,

Jeff
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PNWHerper
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by PNWHerper »

Jamezevanz,

Your images are amazing. Indeed, the wide angle shots are breath-taking. I need to play with that more in my photography. Two pictures really caught my eye...
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This shovel-nosed snake is mid-stride so to speak in making a perfect trail. So very beautiful. I could totally frame that and put it on my wall. It captures so much about that animal for me.
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I love coachwhips. I think that are awesome creatures, and although I know some people on these forums think of them as common as dirt and perhaps even boring, to me they are always a great find. This set of photos is great, and the cloudy sky adds a real nice mood to the images.

Was it you who joined Jeff (Surf'n'Herp) and me and my 2 companions in the Borrego area back in June? It was funny that the next day we found a coachwhip, and then another. And not by road cruising, but by trailing them through the dunes. During the 3 weeks we traveled through the CA deserts, through AZ, southern NV, NM and UT... every coachwhip we observed was always around the same time of day. It was late morning between 11 - 12:30. I think that is when temps were just right, between 98-100 degrees air temp.
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Tonia Graves
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Tonia Graves »

Excellent finds! Stunning photography & lighting! Great post! What's not to love? Thanks for sharing your lighting technique as well, I was wondering how you got that nice, soft light at night.
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jamezevanz
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by jamezevanz »

PNWHerper- I thought you'd like that shovelnose shot (by the way, if you're serious about wanting a print, check out the website listed under my profile). And yes, that was me with Surfinherp back in June, bemoaning my inability to find Coachwips. I was kicking myself for not joining you guys the next day when he told me you found one, but I redoubled my efforts in that area and was rewarded for it. I get the most satisfaction out of finding stuff on my own anyway (albeit with the occasional pointer from knowledgeable folks I meet along the way).

Surfinherp-Thanks for having me out on so many outings and sharing some of your hard earned knowledge, many lifers this year would have eluded me without your insights. I'll be in touch and if you're ever in Alaska you'll always have a host. Will try to meet up and go herp one more time before I leave Saturday.
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Will Wells
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Will Wells »

Very nice shots! I like the story about ensuring the hognose snake wasn't collected. I've had to shew off collectors during photo shoots on several occasions.
Brian Eagar
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by Brian Eagar »

Very nice shots. I especially like the animals in habitat shots. Are you using a wide angle lens for those?
I bought a 10-20 for that purpose but haven't used it for anything but landscapes yet.
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PNWHerper
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Re: SoCal Closeout and Arizona

Post by PNWHerper »

Jamez,
PNWHerper- I thought you'd like that shovelnose shot (by the way, if you're serious about wanting a print, check out the website listed under my profile). And yes, that was me with Surfinherp back in June, bemoaning my inability to find Coachwips. I was kicking myself for not joining you guys the next day when he told me you found one, but I redoubled my efforts in that area and was rewarded for it. I get the most satisfaction out of finding stuff on my own anyway (albeit with the occasional pointer from knowledgeable folks I meet along the way).
Your shot is wonderful. My funds are very limited right now, as I have invested so much in the book that I am not able to really spend money on anything for a while. But, I will seriously think about getting that as a print.

I understand the joy of finding things on your own. Being alone I often seen the most interesting behaviors, as I tend to move much slower alone than with others.

I also like sharing the finds with friends. The only time I don't like being out with others is when they get competitive or possessive. It just isn't my thing.

I am glad you finally had success and were blessed by the snake gods.

Let me know if you are ever in the Seattle area, and want to look for some NW herps. If I am available, I would love to herp in the field with you. We can both practice photographing herps together. ;)
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