Bullsnake, (Pituophis melanoleucus sayi). Mescalero Sands, Chaves co., New Mexico.

-- Billy Gorum (Herphoto@aol.com), May 30, 2000

Answers

What a great image Billy. I love the way the light and composition focus attention on the snakes head. I also like the framing provided by the leaves on top. There is that white twig or something on the bottom that is quite bright and a little distracting, but I wouldn't be reaching in there to move it. Very impressive image.

-- Mark Meyer (mameyer@xsite.net), May 30, 2000.

Billy, Nice photo. The coiled composition works very well with the subject, and the lighting is bright enough to show detail, but not so harsh as to blow out the textures in the skin and bark of the tree. I find the ou of focus green highlights (particularly lower right) and the twig in lower left a bit distracting. Not much that probably could have been done to change that. Overall, very nice. You caught your subject during a moment of interest, and the photo comes across well.

-- Brandon Ward (brandon_ward@yahoo.com), May 30, 2000.

This is excellent. A lovely snake and well done. But if anything and this is my own opinion I would have if of course time permitted taken a reading off the background and underexposed it a little more to try to kill the light spot on the right then used a little fill flash to bring out the snake again so that the background would have been a fraction darker. of course this is not always possible taking shots like this and I do love this shot. And that white stick is distracting a tad, so why didin't you stick your hand in a remove it

-- Keith Anderson (andos@pacific.net.au), May 30, 2000.

Nice shot. I like the way you framed this -- cropping rather tightly around the body but not going in too close.

-- Jon Kindy (jdk@peakpeak.com), May 31, 2000.

Great Shot!

-- M Huber (rurpho@tele-net.net), June 19, 2000.