Uploads from Paul B Jones, tagged poisonous, with geodata

Prairie Rattlesnake - Crotalus viridis - Grasslands National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Paul B Jones) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:31:53 -0700

We found this beautiful snake lying in the middle of the Ecotour road. It was stretched out straight like a piece of rope. I swerved at the last minute to avoid hitting it.

When we approached on foot it coiled and buzzed in a very charismatic fashion. After taking a few pictures and some video (from a safe distance with telephoto lenses) we moved it off the road out of harm's way using the extended legs of a tripod. While it rattled incessantly during this process it never struck.

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens

Prairie Rattlesnake Video - Crotalus viridis, Grasslands National Park

nobody@flickr.com (Paul B Jones) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:24:25 -0700

Paul B Jones posted a video:

Canon 7D DSLR and Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L II USM lens - 19 seconds

If you are lucky you will come across one of these amazing snakes in Canada's Grasslands National Park. Some people find them out in the prairie but I have only seen them on the Ecotour road, where they like to lie and warm themselves in the sun. After taking a few still photos I decided to try for a video using my DSLR, not the easiest thing because while the image quality can be very good from these cameras they don't operate like simple point and shoot handycams.

This was a quick set up, utilizing manual exposure and focusing, very tricky with the camera resting on a bean bag on the ground, not affixed to a tripod. It was hard to keep my eye far enough back so I could see the camera's LCD to focus and at the same time to reach forward and adjust the lens by hand. Also, some kind of external mic would have been nice. The 7D's unit is capable but has no buffer against the wind.

Finally, the telephoto lens allowed videoing from a very safe distance; the snake was approximately 3 metres/10 feet away.

Prairie Rattlesnake - Crotalus viridis - Juvenile

nobody@flickr.com (Paul B Jones) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:36:57 -0700

Paul B Jones posted a photo:

This beautiful snake looks pretty fierce but is a baby, only about eight inches long. I startled it on the Hoodoo Trail in Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park in southern Alberta. The insect like buzzzzz from its rattle drew my attention as it lay coiled under a small bush, then it struck and bounced harmlessly off my hiking boot.

Cobra

nobody@flickr.com (Paul B Jones) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 14:08:13 -0700

Paul B Jones posted a photo:

This Cobra raced across the road in front of our vehicle near Kampung Bilit. I ran after it as fast as I could but I was not able to get a good picture. Maybe not a good idea.