Northern Pacific Rattlesnake

What a great, great managed shot. Sounds like you came close to becoming a little too invested in it, though! With a little bit of venom in your system... but glad it worked out okay. The photograph really is great. Class posture and pose, ready to strike. A clear and detailed look at both the rattle and the posterior scale striping. Just class all the way around. Truly classic.

I wish reference books would use photographs this great. I can even catch a sense of the ventral scales on that lower right curl.

~ janson, loving the hell out of it!

Excellent shot Terry, really like the striking pose!!

Awesome Terry. I do think it could be processed a little better - just to tone down the upper left a little and lighten the lower right a little. Really cool shot, and glad you weren't bitten.

Do I understand the story correctly that you have been bitten by a rattler before, just not since you got into photography?

For David's question about my experience of being bitten. In 1988, while living in the country I was bitten in my back yard. My snake bite happened like most bites to snake lovers, I was improperly handling it. I had just awakened from a nap, when a snake crawled by. I pinned it, picked it up with my left hand, and decided I was gripping it too tight. When I loosened my grip it wrenched forward, turned its head and buried one fang into my thumb, with the other fang hitting my nail and releasing venom over it. It was a very painful experience before it was over. I had no tissue loss and to make a long story short, it only intensified my interest in rattlesnakes. As mentioned, this was a Northern Pacific Rattlesnake.

Thanks to all the rest of you for your interest in this image. I appreciate your comments.

Very nice. I'm envious.

Way to put your digits on the line for sake of a good shot Terry. What a beast.

what an awesome shot! I love it! You got to be careful with agressive wildlife. My wife tells me I will never ever be allowed to take a shot like this! Great work!!!

Very nice pose and a great image Terry. I am quite familiar with this species. Judjing by how quickly these guys kill their prey I would say that you're lucky he missed. I had a friend get nailed by one of these, it was all over the news down here. Although his index finger looks all decrepid, he managed to pull through and returned to work a couple days later. He was fortunate that only one of the fangs penetrated, and the snake was just a baby. I see by the position of its tongue that you were probably within strike range... That tongue jesture is like their final warning. Please don't get nailed in the face, I enjoy your photos too much!

Absolutely awesome picture Terry and a cool story. You really had this one cornered by the looks of it. I can understand taking a picture like this, but it would not even cross my mind to set up flash units with a snake like this in front of me!!! Terry ever thought of it that maybe your flash unit was warmer than your hand and that is what cause the snake to strike to the flash, could that be possible???

I love the pose!

Super shot Terry! The pose couldn't be better and the backdrop with the lichens is beautiful too.

How about a long stick to try to pose him next time?

Wonderful shot! I actually love snakes, and this one is beautiful.
Sandy

Terry, this is a phenomenal shot!



This is the kind of work that inspired me as a boy to fall in love with snakes. That and hands on experience of course.

I am very impressed with this shot... Perfect light, great pose, great back and foreground.

Did you suffer any nerve or tissue side effects from the crotalus bite? I'd love to hear more about it!

wow, the texture on the tree adds a great deal to this one imo.. nice work

For Filip's question on my Crotalus bite. Regarding nerve damage, other than slight numbness on the side of the thumb for a couple of years, I don't think I had any to speak of. Regarding tissue damage, there was a half inch blotch of white scarring under the skin at the fang entry point on my thumb that disappeared within five years. The snake that got me was a small snake, and as I mentioned, only one fang envenomated me. I would say that within a day and a half I was really on the mend. The worst part of the experience was the extreme swelling and the pain that created. At times, I thought the skin on my thumb may burst.

I had saved about $1500 so I could go to western Montana that fall to do some fly fishing and hiking. I wasn't about to turn that (and a lot more) over to the hospital and doctors. I reasoned that since it was a small snake and one fang, I wasn't going to die. So I just sat it out. I could have stood some prescription pain killer though...

It's the outrageous cost of medical help that has started to back me off from snake handling. Even with insurance a serious bite from a large rattlesnake could set you back for years. Anyway, that's my story. Thanks for asking.

Great photo Terry!

Killer image, Terry! I thought this would win this week - congrats!
Sandy E

Hi Terry,

Congrats on the EP! This is a sweet image, and you've got a heck of a story to go with it! Yikes!

Consider yourselves very lucky the Northern Pacific is the nastiest agro pacific coast rattler there is. My wife and I were chased across Asuza Cyn rd by a gravid female. This shot is a classic representation of the breed and shows the why of the mottled coloring. Excellent shot.

Exceptional photograph of a truly beautiful species.