Northern Water Snake Triptych

From my morning paddle in the kayak on Saturday...

Northern Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon, by Reed A. George

Nikon D810, Nikkor 200-500mm f5.6 Lens

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Northern Water Snake - Nikkor 300-400mm f4 AF-S VR G Lens

I went kayaking today, for the third weekend in a row. Get it, in a row? Sorry about that. I think I'm a little punchy after so much exercise.

 

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of testing out a new telephoto lens, the amazing Nikkor 200-400mm f4. This is not an easy lens to handle, but mounted firmly on a gimbal head and super-heavy tripod, I was able to get it to shine, including with the Nikon TC14EII teleconverter. The focus is super-fast and accurate.

 

 

Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon), by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 200-400mm f4 AF-S G VR Lens

Nikkor TC1.4EII Teleconverter (final focal length 360mm)

iso 2200, f8, 1/1250 sec.

I got some really nice bird shots today as well, including some really sharp shots of birds in flight. But, I'm too tired to process them tonight. So, you'll have to live with this teaser shot of a northern water snake until I get some sleep.

 

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A Walk In The Woods, With Leica M9 - Composing Differently

Yesterday, I posted an image I made at Manassas National Battlefield, on my way to a hike at the Shenandoah National Park. Here are some shots from the hike itself.

 

I have been in the situation of shooting nature with my M9 recently. Not exactly what most nature photographers grab on their way out, the rangefinder presents challenges. It doesn't play well with long telephoto lenses or macro. This is part of the fun for me. In fact, it forces me to compose differently, maybe even better in some cases.

 

This little white mushroom was sticking out of a bank of green along the trail. If I were carrying my Nikon DSLR, I would have been motivated to grab a macro lens, and show as much detail of the mushroom as possible. It did have an interesting texture; this would not have been a bad idea. But, it would have missed some of the context, the contrast between this little fungus and everything else around it. This month's Whole Lotta Leica Lens, the Summicron 35mm f2, showed that quite well.

 

Shroom, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 35mm f2 Version 3

iso 400, f8, 1/25 sec.

 

Perhaps a little more in the normal Leica realm, I really liked the abstract shapes made by the flowing water, wood, and stone in the creek below. I would have liked to use a neutral density filter and get a longer exposure, to let the water flow even more. I don't carry filters for my Leica lenses.

Creek, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 35mm f2 Version 3

iso 160, f16, 1/3 sec.

I shot the leaf below from several angles before getting what I wanted. What really attracted me was the reflection of the green leaves and dark tree trunks above the water. This green patch was actually quite small, so my shots with the 35mm wide angle lens included too much. I switched to my lovely little Canon LTM 135mm f3.5 lens. This is an amazingly sharp lens. I was able to get it up on a tripod pretty high, and isolate the reflections from the rest of the scene. The leaf in the water provides an anchor point for the eye.

Summer Reflection, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 135mm f3.5 Lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/60 sec.

I spied this Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon), sunning himself by the creek. My nature photographer instincts kicked in, and I started shooting from afar, to make sure I got a shot of him. Again using the 135mm, a rather modest telephoto length, I kept easing closer and closer. Here's the closest shot I got.

Northern Water Snake, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 135mm f3.5 Lens

iso 320, f6.7, 1/1000 sec.

Upon looking at all of the shots I took when I got home, I discovered the one below. Including the full body of the snake, and more of his surroundings, I actually prefer this one:

Northern Water Snake With Context, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon LTM 135mm f3.5 Lens

iso 320, f6.7, 1/1000 sec.

 

I most definitely would not have made the shot above with a DSLR and long telephoto. Just to be clear, this is not a weakness of the DSLR per se. It is my own way of thinking when I'm using that equipment. I'm really glad that I forced myself to work with what I had.

 

I continue to learn about this interface of equipment and creativity.

 

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Reptile and Amphibian Thread on mu-43.com

 

Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridus), by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.6 zoom at 140mm

iso100, f8, 1/500 sec

I have always been a fan of snakes and other reptiles. Growing up in Oklahoma was perfect for that.

I came across a nice post on mu-43.com, where people are starting to submit their reptile and amphibian images:

(Click Here) to see the thread on mu-43.com.

I came across this lovely fellow above on a hike in Roman Nose State Park, while visiting my parents last year. On my return hike out, I noticed what looked like a new branch laying across the path. Then I saw it was moving. I ran up, and captured a few shots of him. He was not too interested in me, which was fine by me. We both went on our merry way.

I have a good friend, Larry Mendoza, who's President of the Virginia Herpetological Society. Recently, I participated in a survey with him, where we found a few snakes, frogs, and several box turtles. I posted a box turtle image a few days ago.

It's a shame that snakes are so poorly understood. They are critical to the environment, and do an excellent job of keeping pest populations under control. And, to me, they're just plain cool.

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