Comments on: Photographing a Rattlesnake: How I Did It and Why I Won’t Do It Again

By: Jon Dize aka DIZEMAN

Jon Dize aka DIZEMAN — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:40:00 +0000

Living in the Mojave Desert most of my life, Rattlesnakes were never an issue… even kissed one on the nose at Valley of Fire when I was 25, but three years ago when I was 55, while walking my son’s German Shepherd/Coyote Mix toward a picnic table just outside of Amarillo, TX, a very large snake bit my son’s dog on the snout, a fatal blow, full envenomation, she died. No rattle, no sound at all, hid in four inch grass and struck before the dog knew what hit her. Had she not been bitten, I was on the other end of the four foot leash, I would have taken the hit, my next step was to be where she was standing. Today, I don’t walk in high grass and by high, I mean any grass, by abandoned cars, trucks, crags in rocks or porches which have crawl spaces without doing a thorough investigation.

That event changed me, there are things I cannot do now that I always did. Logic, statistics, sensibilities do not matter, I came face to face with that one in a million and when you are the one or holding on to the one when it happens, the other 999,999k don’t matter.

Be careful when playing with snakes… they can strike faster than you can possibly evade, 3/4 the length of their body in 1/12th of a second, you won’t even see it when it happens.

Great shots though!

By: stefanhellbergDOTcom

stefanhellbergDOTcom — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:52:00 +0000

haha, good stuff! Thanks for sharing :)

/Stefan
http://stefanhellberg.com

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 04:06:00 +0000

I work with rattlesnakes professionally and photograph quite a few of them. It looks like you had an experienced handler with you. If they are good at what they do, you are not in as much danger as this sort of thing may look. Great shots, and I love those snakes. Is this individual in Arizona?

By: Fernando Robles Coulter

Fernando Robles Coulter — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:29:00 +0000

I laughed a bit

By: Ritchie

Ritchie — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:43:00 +0000

Great Shots

By: Glenn Batson

Glenn Batson — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:50:00 +0000

My understanding is anitvenom is also in short supply or hospitals are just not stocking it these days. If ture that makes it even more dangerous. Cool shots.

By: Vincent de Vries

Vincent de Vries — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 00:55:00 +0000

This is possibly the most funny ànd informative blog I’ve ever read!! Hilarious
Great shots man!!
Good luck with the white ones, they get awfully large and potentially dangerous….what the heck, you probably come to that conclusion yourself after the shoot. (and we just enjoy the beautiful shots!)

By: Blair Bunting

Blair Bunting — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:36:00 +0000

Thanks again guys. The sharks will be intimidating, but what I will get out of facing those fears will be much greater than any images that will come of it. I grew up wanting to be a marine biologist because of my love of sharks, however in the same heartbeat the idea of being in the water at night with a Great White terrifies me. This whole photography thing aside, the experience will make me stronger as a person.

By: Dale Nevin

Dale Nevin — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:32:00 +0000

Well the water will hide your tears from the fear that you will be facing under water… LOL Great shots!!!

By: Ananta Cuffee

Ananta Cuffee — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 22:04:00 +0000

Bro…. You are a rockstar for this one. there are some people that I don’t pull out my 35mm for. Great stuff.