Richard's strange & Obscure bucket of video

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Porter
Posts: 2418
Joined: March 19th, 2011, 7:43 pm

Richard's strange & Obscure bucket of video

Post by Porter »

Ok, so I was watching some recent herp vids tonight and it sent me down memory trail... There was a guy on here, can't remember the name, but I think he was an AZ guy... I had him on my facebook when it was still living, maybe, along with a bunch of other herpers I didn't know lol...but, I remember him posting a video where they put plastic toy snakes and turtles on the shoulder of a freeway to count and video how many people swerved to purposely run them over. I think it ended with someone pulling over to steal the turtle :lol: I thought that was a very interesting video... effective. Well, I uploaded a bucket of videos for a post, probably 2011-ish. Then I deleted the videos from the post. Then that guy messaged me somewhere on a social media and asked, "Where are your videos...? None of them are playable..." Which I don't think I responded. Probably because I was having a bad hair day, with no hairspray, declared myself spare waste, tired and worn in digest taste, and then chased despair's face through a human race, at an equal pace, to make picante paste taste, like it was dull paper based. So, I figured I'd upload em again...

It's a trip because these things look so vintage now, :lol: I feel like I'm watching some old television show from my childhood.... I'm bored and if you are too, have at it... :thumb:

Also, if any kids follow this back to my youtube page. I have a couple videos where I'm handling/touching rattlesnakes. I DO NOT do that anymore. Understand, I had been catching them like that for years and wasn't aware of the negative influence. I was told that someone (a well experienced herper) got bit after watching those vids. I do not want to remove them because those are the only copies of the vids that I have and they hold sentimental value for me. I've been lucky over the years and as much as I used to insist that I knew what I was doing as far as temperament judgement and what not, I don't want you to DIE. If you look at Evil Canevil or Tony Hawk, you wouldn't go jump a Grand Canyon or do a 900 hundred randomly one day for the hell of it, right? Years of experience came before those vids!! Don't be dumb. You WILL DIE! Be smart. Those Rattlesnake don't want to be held anyway. They are scared to death of you! Be nice and don't stress them out. Then, you're cool! Animals first 8-)

Also, for a bit more interscope... The first rattlesnake I ever saw was crawling across our campsite on the 4th of July. My buddy Scott and I shot it to death with pellet guns, skinned it, and ate it! So, holding a snake behind the neck was never something I thought of as being mean to the animal. I thought it was cool to just grab em as hard as I could, get my fingers in the right place, and pick em up to show off to the girls. Now you couldn't get me to run over an adult bullfrog in a newly discovered population of Western Spadefoot toads. Besides, there's a hungry Raccoon out there and I'm not gonna make him eat spadefoot toads all night ;) 8-)




















































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Porter
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Re: Richard's strange & Obscure bucket of video

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Posts: 2418
Joined: March 19th, 2011, 7:43 pm

Re: Richard's strange & Obscure bucket of video

Post by Porter »

I figured I add these photos now that all the chapters have combined. Sort of an interduction I suppose... I was a pretty avid little field herper as a kid. Learned everything on my own without reading books/field guides or parental instruction. Found a lot more species than photographed. I feel like a have a more Native American approach to field herping and that seems to aggravate a lot of herpers in regards to me not going about traditional methods. I didn't even know it was called, "field herping" until 2010 after I found some Sierra Nevada Ensatina while hiking with my girlfriend at the time. I hadn't seen one since I was 13 or 14, and hadn't really looked for snakes for at least 10 years. Outgrew it for awhile and was more focused on video editing and filming (skateboarding videos), art, and music. So, I looked them up on the internet and saw that people actually go out and photgraph these animals for hobby. It struck me as an interesting new pallet of art to work from and I was inspired to get back into it. These videos were made with the intention to showcase the beauty I was revisting, however seemed to meet more criticism than support.

It is what it is and I still think there is an aspect here that people can enjoy. At the time, there really weren't any field herping videos that showed up close shots. All the snakes were photographed from far away and seemed to have more of the person holding the snake than the snake itself. Road cruising vids often had just a wiggly line of 10 % sized animal displayed and the rest of the frame was all road. So, I took it upon myself to go a different direction and put the camera 3 or 4 inches from the animal to display what they look like in detail. That seemed to piss people off :lol: ...however, It raised the bar and I have been told that they were influential in that regard. However, my choice of music (which I still think is great) and the non-use of traditional methods urged a want to sweep these under the carpet and I completely understand WHY now!

I just want to make a strong message here that not all of these animals were handled with as much care as they should have been. Most of the time I was alone and filming with one hand while trying to manipulate the subject with the other. Which can be a lot more difficult than it looks. I don't support holding hots AT ALL and I feel ashame of the negative influence it has had. However to see the influence it's had on inspiring other herpers vids it truly rewarding. They have taken it farther and in a better direction! I was actually highly inspired by a guy named Devlin's videos (which I'll post one below). He gave me the idea that I could put my skateboarding video knowledge to this and create something more artistic. The idea to get that close up footage with dynamic angles was my own and came from my skateboarding days of following my little brothers friends around on a skateboard (my skate days were over at that point. 9 x dislocated shoulder, orthoscopic surgery, dislocated knee cap. But I could still ride good. I'll post one below). But, we all have seen Animal Planet, Crock hunter, and Wild America, right? :lol: I imagine even if that wasn't a direct influence in making these.... It was always in the back of my mind and I'm sure had something to do with the artistic process.

I learned a tremendous amount after connecting with FHF! For instance, I had no idea what kind of Salamander hole I discovered while on a high desert camping trip with my dad and grandpa (both not very thrilled with herps). But after viewing Calherps, I know now that it had to have been a Long-toed Salamander. I saw my first Lateralis at the age of 6 or 7 and used to chase the Super-fast-gartersnake around my yard like a Coyote vs Road Runner ongoing venture that never resulted in me catching. Then thinking I got my lifer later when I was in my early teens and my dad not letting my take it home because he once worked for Fish & Game and thought in was a Giant Gartersnake. But now, I know that snake could only have been a Lateralis because of it's behavioral patterns and living environment. I never road cruised in my life before 2010 and people like Brian Hubbs and Chad Lane showed me that there WAS in fact a science to it. I learned a lot from Devlin too. Man that guys knows his stuff. Mike Spencer was also very fundamental in teaching me a few things including what not to hold...lol (I wasn't really aware of endangered species). Driving around with Gary Nafis and talking about music and the history of invasive Nerodia was a memorable experience. Me: "Have you ever heard of a guy named Tom Waits...?" Gary: "Pfft... have I ever heard of Tom waits... haha" Lol :thumb: :beer:



Despeleta:





Old Skate Stuff: I filmed everything ecept the shot at the end of little Ben's section where I'm sitting on the staircase praying with a cup on my head lol Sometimes, you gotta be a clown and put the camera down :P








Imagex18 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex7 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex5 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex29 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex28 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex28a by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex26 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex10 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex21 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex16 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex15 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex19 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex3 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex4 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex23 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex14 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex27 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex8 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex6 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex31 by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr

Imagex2cc by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr



survey photo by Owen Holt:

Image26399469185_c0b9b28efd_o by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr
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