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Author Topic: ~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~  (Read 11181 times)

JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« on: May 15, 2010, 09:15:08 am »

Here are some shots of various Florida-native species of reptiles and amphibians I have been able to capture:




Northern Scarlet Snake



Gulf Hammock Ratsnake



Southern Ringneck Snake



Squirrel Treefrog



Eastern Spadefoot Toad



Enjoy!

Jack




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« Last Edit: June 26, 2010, 10:11:45 am by JohnKoerner »
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PeterAit

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2010, 10:23:22 am »

Quote from: JohnKoerner
Here are some shots of various Florida-native species of reptiles and amphibians I have been able to capture:
Enjoy!

Jack

Very nice - you must have a lot of patience!
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wolfnowl

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2010, 03:21:56 pm »

Very patient, especially with the snakes!  Well done.  Since you're in Florida, though, do keep an eye out for ball pythons and other exotics roaming around!

Mike.

P.S.  Do you remember Florida's walking catfish debaucle back in the 60s (IIRC)?
« Last Edit: May 16, 2010, 03:23:53 pm by wolfnowl »
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JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2010, 05:05:34 pm »

Quote from: PeterAit
Very nice - you must have a lot of patience!

Quote from: wolfnowl
Very patient, especially with the snakes!  Well done.  Since you're in Florida, though, do keep an eye out for ball pythons and other exotics roaming around!
Mike.
P.S.  Do you remember Florida's walking catfish debaucle back in the 60s (IIRC)?


Thanks fellas. I am not sure what I have is patience so much as it is interest ... I simply love reptiles, amphibians, and wildlife in general

And Mike, it is the Burmese Pythons that are at large in Florida, not the Ball Pythons. Ball Pythons are small and relatively harmless by comparison. Regarding the walking catfish, I have only been in Florida for a few years, and was only on this planet since the 60s, LOL, so no I don't remember that, sorry  

Jack




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wolfnowl

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2010, 10:07:58 pm »

Hi Jack:  Don't want to take this thread too far away from your images, but since you are a self-professed lover of wildlife... Walking catfish are a breed originally from southeastern Asia, IIRC.  They've evolved from living in ponds that dry up in the summer, so they have very stiff pectoral fins.  They can stay out of water for several hours and 'walk' up to a couple of miles.  They can be very aggressive; they put one in a tank with a black pirhana and it chased and killed the pirhana.  There's some speculation as to exactly how some were released into a pond or ponds in south Florida, but they began outcompeting the local fish, eating eggs, and when they overpopulated an area they'd simply walk to another one.  There was an attempt at extirpation (rotenone, probably), but I don't think it was completely successful.  There are probably still some living in south Florida.  My facts may be a little off; as I say, it was a long time ago.

Mike.

P.S.  I was thinking Burmese python, but sometimes my fingers have a mind of their own.
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JohnKoerner

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« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2010, 10:31:17 am »

Here are some more shots of the many Florida-native species of snakes that I have been able to capture:




Bluestripe Garter Snake



Peninsula Ribbon Snake



Eastern Mud Snake



Florida Cottonmouth



Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake



Enjoy!

Jack




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mattpallante

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2010, 02:27:01 pm »

Jack, you've really done an outstanding job on these. Very nice images!

                                                Matt
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wolfnowl

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2010, 06:17:46 pm »

Really well done.  I trust you weren't that close to the cottonmouth!

Mike.
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JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #8 on: June 28, 2010, 08:56:25 am »

Quote from: mattpallante
Jack, you've really done an outstanding job on these. Very nice images!

                                                Matt

Thank you very much Matt




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Quote from: wolfnowl
Really well done.  I trust you weren't that close to the cottonmouth!
Mike.

Thank you too Mike

Yes, I was within 18-inches of that Cottonmouth. Their striking distance (from that posture anyway) is severely-limited compared to that of a rattlesnake. I will admit that it was a bit un-nerving to take my eyes off the snake for that split-second I had to put my head behind the camera to focus-in on him, but I had a pair of snake tongs in my left hand kind of blocking the distance between us, while I was resting on my right elbow propping my camera up. I was even closer to this Pigmy Rattlesnake when I obtained the following portrait:


 

Jack




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JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2010, 09:02:52 am »

One more thing: if you look at the full-body photo of the Pigmy Rattlesnake (on my previous post up a few notches), you will notice that its tail begins to turn yellow toward the end ... and that this species hardly has a rattle at all. What I find most interesting is that these tiny rattlesnakes actually position their tails in front of themselves ... and wiggle it as a lure ... which attracts large insects, small frogs, or small rodents to within striking distance. They actually use their own tails to lure-in their prey items.

I just find that fascinating  

Jack




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JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #10 on: July 14, 2010, 05:04:22 pm »

A few more ...




Barking Treefrog



Gray Treefrog



Pine Woods Treefrog



Oak Toad
(Smallest Toad in the US)



Enjoy!

Jack




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tokengirl

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2010, 07:25:31 pm »

The color on that bluestripe garter is just stunning!

Nice work!
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Rob C

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #12 on: July 15, 2010, 04:31:13 am »

Quote from: JohnKoerner
They actually use their own tails to lure-in their prey items.

I just find that fascinating  

Jack


Hi Jack

Lends even more credbility to the story of Eve.

Question becomes: which one did the teaching? (I was actually going to write who taught who, but then I couldn't decide if it should have been who taught whom and then I sort of remembered going through the argument before but realising I now no longer know if it's objective or subjective! Ah the release of age: it doesn't matter! Actually, it does, but you just stop being able to care.)

On a less urgent note, don't you ever suffer from/get the sense of self-preservation? Forget the other chap's long lens, I'd be out of the state if I saw one of those death sentences looking my way, subjectively or objectively!

Rob C

JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #13 on: July 15, 2010, 07:49:38 am »

Quote from: tokengirl
The color on that bluestripe garter is just stunning!
Nice work!


Thank you. She is the nicest individual of that species I have seen!

Jack




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JohnKoerner

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~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #14 on: July 15, 2010, 08:33:05 am »

Quote from: Rob C
Hi Jack
Lends even more credbility to the story of Eve.

Hmm, never quite thought of it that way.




Quote from: Rob C
Question becomes: which one did the teaching? (I was actually going to write who taught who, but then I couldn't decide if it should have been who taught whom and then I sort of remembered going through the argument before but realising I now no longer know if it's objective or subjective! Ah the release of age: it doesn't matter! Actually, it does, but you just stop being able to care.)

Yeah, I'm pretty much at the stage where I don't really care either. Besides, regardless if it is figuratively-, anatomically- (or suggestively-) speaking, the dimensions of a "Pigmy" Rattlesnake, by its very definition, are such that it would have to be a very lonely woman indeed to be "lured" by his wee little tail tip, which isn't much more than a quarter-inch long




Quote from: Rob C
On a less urgent note, don't you ever suffer from/get the sense of self-preservation? Forget the other chap's long lens, I'd be out of the state if I saw one of those death sentences looking my way, subjectively or objectively!
Rob C

IMHO, this subject is actually a more urgent note, all things considered.

Truth to tell, neither of those venomous reptiles is a death sentence (to a human anyway). The Pigmy Rattler not at all; the Cottonmouth unlikely. Both are essentially "sub-lethal" venomous snakes. The venom properties of snakes do vary among individuals, even within the same species, but with the Pigmy Rattler these animals simply do not have enough venom to kill a healthy adult. A bite from one would hurt like hell, but they simply can't kill a healthy, full-grown man. A full-on bite from a very large Cottonmouth OTOH could possibly kill a man, but the likelihood of an average-sized specimen being able to do so is remote. However, the venom from this species is known to have a lot of tissue-destroying properties, which is most concerning, yes indeed.

So, to answer your question, my sense of self-preservation is great enough to treat these animals with the respect they deserve, and to keep a safe distance, and I have enough experience with them to know what a "safe distance" is. I have been catching venomous reptiles since I was in junior high school, but while I am fairly comfortable being around them, I will never get so comfortable that I behave carelessly around them. I hike in rattlesnake-proof boots and, when I handle them, I do so with professional tongs and hooks. When I am done photographing them I release them.

Thanks,

Jack




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JohnKoerner

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Re: ~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #15 on: August 28, 2010, 09:54:16 pm »

Got a couple more shots of an Eastern Spadefoot Toad (this time a female). The males are usually green and the females brown. They have the most unusual eyes of any toad in North America ...


Eastern Spadefoot Toad

Enjoy,




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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: ~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2010, 03:34:31 am »

Got a couple more shots of an Eastern Spadefoot Toad (this time a female). The males are usually green and the females brown. They have the most unusual eyes of any toad in North America ...
The first is just a photo of a toad but the second is very striking.

Jeremy
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JohnKoerner

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Re: ~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #17 on: August 30, 2010, 10:03:24 am »

The first is just a photo of a toad but the second is very striking.
Jeremy


Thanks Jeremy. The first shot I suppose was more for identification, the second for effect. It is interesting to me to see the faces of these creatures "up close"; trying to imagine what it would be like if they were our size.

I also like catching them in the act of hunting, if I can. Here is a shot of a Green Anole (turned brown), patiently waiting near what's left of a a flower to pounce upon whatever insect alights on it:





Kinda cool how he just sits there "frozen" in waiting ...

Jack




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wolfnowl

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Re: ~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #18 on: August 30, 2010, 09:21:54 pm »

Quote
Kinda cool how he just sits there "frozen" in waiting ...

poikilothermic...


All seriousness aside, really nice shot!

Mike.
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JohnKoerner

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Re: ~ PORTRAITS OF REPTILES ~
« Reply #19 on: August 31, 2010, 11:38:26 am »

poikilothermic...
All seriousness aside, really nice shot!
Mike.


Thanks Mike.

If you ever want to auction-off all the terms, phrases, and scraps of information you have stored in your head over the years ... let me know

Jack


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