Swimmin' Ribbon

Gallery: WildlifePosted September 2, 20152,865 views10 comments

Red-striped Ribbon Snake at our pond. It's on the prowl for the small Southern Leopard Frogs & tadpoles that live there.

Interesting to watch it at work too.. It explored the edges of the pond, then vanished down into the water for extended periods in search of its prey.. F/9, 1/640th, ISO 800, 5DM2, 300mm f/2.8 + 2x ext.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on September 2, 2015 at 10:24 AM

Howard,

This is great especially considering the extender use.

Could the "nose" do with just a little more sharpening?

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on September 2, 2015 at 10:59 AM

Nice work getting the eye sharp on this beautiful animal, Howard. I do like the undulating lines of the body, but part of my wants to lop off the top just to get that green leaf out of there. It's nice to see a good snake photo here. cool

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on September 2, 2015 at 11:45 AM

Hi Ken & thanx for commenting on my image today.

Here's the version you asked for with a very slight crop.. I left the leaf in because it was neither + or - for me. My thinking to go ahead & leave it in was that the extra color/interest of the leaf was a plus. By a nose enlightened

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by David Bogener on September 2, 2015 at 4:40 PM

Nice snake image. Sharp where it needs to be. I really like the pose and composition. I find it difficult to compose snakes well. I have no opinion one way or the other on the inclusion of the leaf. Nice work.

Registered on October 30, 2013, 417 Posts, 1255 Comments

Comment posted by Clinton Bauder on September 2, 2015 at 4:55 PM

Neat image. Snakes are really difficult to capture and I think you did very well here. I like reflection of the head as well. The leaf doesn't bother me at all. devil

Clinton

Registered on December 8, 2009, 31 Posts, 231 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on September 2, 2015 at 10:06 PM

Another excellent look at this snake, Howard. I really like the S curve of it's body and the red and white stripe show up very well. I also like the leaf as it adds some location info. I've seen the "problem" of sharpness on the snout on frogs where the very gently rounded profile seems to look soft, when it's a sharp as the rest of the head.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on September 3, 2015 at 5:27 PM

Very nicely composed and the head is nice and sharp, some more depth of field would have been great but I know how difficult that is with snakes. Cool shot Howard, thanks for sharing. devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on September 4, 2015 at 9:47 AM

Howard: what a truly captivating photo. Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on September 6, 2015 at 9:09 AM

Hi Howard,

Nice "s-curve", and I personally like the DoF as presented (as you're already down to f9 stopping down further wouldn't have a dramatic effect anyway, and the head "pops" nicely now).

My preference is for the version with the leaf in. Without it the shot looks too stark to me, and I didn't find the leaf even remotely distracting.