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Snakebite!


Snakebite!
Photo Information
Copyright: Gerhard Theron (gerhardt) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1936 W: 244 N: 4106] (11620)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-02-26
Categories: Reptiles
Camera: Canon EOS 300D, Canon EF 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L IS USM, Digital ISO 100, Kenko Extension tube (20mm)
Exposure: f/8, 1/200 seconds
Details: (Fill) Flash: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Pretoria Zoo 1 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-06-12 13:50
Viewed: 8127
Favorites: 2 [view]
Points: 82
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Boomslang
Dispholidus typus

Literary translated “Boomslang” means Tree Snake. There is not a common English name for this snake.

Drop for drop this is the most poisonous snake in the world!

The venom of these snakes is primarily haemotoxic, and affects the blood-clotting mechanism, causing severe headaches, bleeding from the mucous membranes, nausea, vomiting and eventually bleeding from all internal organs. Blood will also ooze from the fang punctures.

Although very poisonous it’s not considered the most dangerous snake in the world. This shy snake very seldom bites. When it does it may take more than 8 hours before the first symptoms are detected and 24 to 48 hours for serious symptoms to develop. Usually enough time to get medical attention. Before it does bite the Boomslang will inflate the neck region to more than twice the normal size and eventually the entire body is inflated. At this stage the snake will strike sideways and forward. Although the fangs are situated far back in the mouth the snake can open its mouth as wide as 170 degrees and can easily deliver an effective bite on an arm or leg.

A bite from this snake will require monovalent (for a single species) antivenom. The polyvalent (for more than one species) antivenom will not be effective if bitten by this snake.

Because the most of us venture into the wild at times I thought it might be useful to share the following precautions one should take not to get bitten by snakes:

1) Always leave snakes alone.
2) Wear stout shoes or boots and long trousers preferably denims, seeing that most victims are bitten around the ankle when accidentally stepping on the snake.
3) Most snake bites occur just before or hour or two after sunrise and sunset. Use a torch to light the way and wear shoes when walking around in camp.
4) Do not step over large logs or rocks; rather step on top of them as the snake may be basking in the sun behind it.
5) If you do come across a snake stand still. Snakes never chase people. If further than four meters from the snake retreat slowly.
6) Never try to kill a snake. Some snakes mimics death and closer inspection will leave you very surprised. Some even turns sideways with the tongue hanging out.
7) Do not put your hands into openings that you can’t see into. The same rule applies when gathering firewood.
8) Always know where the closest antivenom is kept and have the telephone numbers for the emergency centers readily available.
9) Treat all snakes with respect.
naki, Runnerduck, AndyB, PDP, sAner, hummingbird24, JeanMichel, Zeno, Alan_Kolnik, ddg, Signal-Womb, red45, scottevers7, Janice, carper, chiliu, coasties, Comandante, Nico, dew77, TAZ, CaptiveLight, Paulosousa, marhowie, thistle, ellis49, tucancr, puffy, Luc, elihesam, janhendrik, vmukherjee has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To DaveA: Depending....gerhardt 2 07-12 19:10
To slrnovice2: Common snake...gerhardt 4 06-13 14:48
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Critiques [Translate]

Outstanding portrait, Gerhard!
Very sharp details. Excellent composition, Dof, Pov and colours.
I love thit shot, great lighting!

Thank you for sharing, you did a very good work.


well done!

  • Great 
  • naki Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 382 W: 27 N: 5] (40)
  • [2005-06-12 14:02]

Hi Gerhard, in Turkey we got only vipers as poisonous snakes. They can be rather dangerous too. Here in the village I live, all of the snakes bites I know occured between the hours you mentioned.
Great image, the shadow on the bottom right seems to be unnecessary. Very good sharpness, Dof and composition.
Great note too.
Very well done.

  • Great 
  • Ina Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 111 W: 6 N: 101] (767)
  • [2005-06-12 14:05]

Fantastic clear picture... Colors and light is very nice and so is the pose of this snake...TFS...Ina...

Fantastic portrait shot of this gorgeous snake Gerhard. Superb detail and colour, excellent.
Great note, thanks for posting.

Great portrait, gerhard! :-)
this is a very pretty snake,
does not really look that dangerous.
wonderful colors, good sharpness.
i really like that photo,
thorsten.

  • Great 
  • AndyB Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1366 W: 32 N: 1351] (3982)
  • [2005-06-12 14:25]

Hello Gerhard,
A superb capture.
Excellent detail and colours,very good DOF.
An interesting note.
Very well done.

  • Great 
  • PDP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor [C: 2821 W: 344 N: 3779] (11769)
  • [2005-06-12 14:47]

Hello Gerhard, wise words about snakes. I'd love to see some poisionous snakes in real life (from a safe distance!). Very good composition and colours, excellent note as ever. Very well done.

  • Great 
  • Fisher Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1540 W: 309 N: 2234] (8915)
  • [2005-06-12 14:48]

I see why you were using the monster with an extention tube. :)
Beautiful portrait of the Boomslang.
Excellent lighting and details and well done on the composition.

Mike

Really stands out from the background

A handsome looking demon, Gerhard.
Your composition is well detailed, sharp, lighting is great and wonderful BG.
Well done and thank you.

Come to think of it, as a child, I saw many snakes and loved to play in the fields looking for them, however, now I cannot remember the last time I saw one, I wonder why?

It doesn't look dangerous seen like that, but I trust you. Very useful note even for the only venimous adders we have here. Your photo is superb, Gerhard, with a beautiful clarity and colors. Difficult to get a better shot!

  • Great 
  • Zeno Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 483 W: 0 N: 1345] (10867)
  • [2005-06-12 16:19]

This is a nice boomslang. The details are very clear and the color green is magic.
I like the composition this way.


regards,

Zeno.

Amazing that you could get close enough (I assume the snake was behind glass?) to get a macro of this dangerous reptile. Technically perfect. Great note.

  • Great 
  • ddg Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 867 W: 24 N: 1008] (5507)
  • [2005-06-12 16:56]

Hello Gerhard, superbe photo, toutes mes félicitations Didier.

Excellent clarity and detail Gerhard. What an excellent portrait and the composition is superb. Very fine work.

Regards Steve.

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2636 W: 74 N: 9091] (31094)
  • [2005-06-12 18:17]

Yeah, not from your soft side for sure, my friend :-) I like snakes very much and this one is real gem. Colour, pose, details and reptile's eye - all perfect. Great job!

This is an excellent portrait Gerhard. The color and detail are superb. The OOF backround reallly shows off the snakes color. GREAT SHOT!

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1538 W: 5 N: 2240] (12636)
  • [2005-06-12 22:11]

Superbe travail, je me demande comment fait tu pour avoir d'aussie bon résultat avec l'aide d'un flash.

Félicitations pour cette superbe photo d'un très grande qualité.

  • Great 
  • Janice Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3277 W: 148 N: 6163] (18832)
  • [2005-06-12 23:01]

Oh, very poisonous! I was thinking that it actually looks like a nice snake - but no, it isn't. But you have captured it excellently Gerhard. The colours and patterns are perfect. Very good macro of it - how close were you? Thanks for sharing and your info notes are very good.

Great picture, Gerhard.
I'm very glad to live up here in cold north, we don't have any dangerous snakes.;-)).Only one venomous snake, the adder and it's not deadly if you are a healthy person.
Great pose, well composed, very good details and nice colours.
Excellent work, my friend.

prachtige capture mijn vriend,
schitterende compositie, goede scherpte, uitstekend in pof and een fantastische dof, very good job,
gr. Jaap

Great shot!Excellent composition.
TFS!

Amazing shot Gerhard!
Clear details,framing,lighting and composition are excellent.Thanks for sharing.

  • Great 
  • Nico Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 199 W: 1 N: 335] (1321)
  • [2005-06-13 3:06]

Mooi groen slang, Gerhardt.

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4432 W: 248 N: 4028] (13270)
  • [2005-06-13 3:42]

Hello Gerhard!
Great shot.Clear details,colors,lighting,eyes,framing,BG and composition are perfect.TFS...:-)

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3089 W: 230 N: 6774] (23770)
  • [2005-06-13 3:48]

Wow... superb, Gerhard. Outstanding on all levels. Congratulations for a fantastic shot. TFS. ; )

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2241 W: 47 N: 3167] (10926)
  • [2005-06-13 3:54]

Waouh ! Superbe reptile bien mis en valeur dans cette belle composition photographique. Jolies couleurs, bon point de vue et bonne netteté.
Outstanding portrait ! Interesting & well done shot !

Wow... What a great looking handbag and pair of shoes.... good colour too, it will go with just about anything!

Okay, seriously. I am not 'big' on spiders and snakes, but this guy looks great in a photo. Good catchlight Gerhard. He is tack sharp, but creepy! Technically an awesome shot! Thanks.

Excellent image Gerhardt, not really a lot else to say other than an excellent note to go with it.

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1455 W: 74 N: 1426] (4750)
  • [2005-06-13 6:25]

Hello Gerhard,

Yesterday my gf and I were watching a televisionshow on Animal Planet which was about snakes and we were saying to eatchother how cool a closeup of a snake would be to post on TN and you then you post one. :) It's a wonderful shot. Very well composed, razorsharp details, great colors and superb POV. Well done & TFS!

Regards,
Pieter

Excellent head-shot profile Gerhard! Just about perfect - no nits here! Very good note - Very well done my friend..

This is stunning clarity and sharpness. Perfect exposure resulting in perfect detail and colour. I like your DOF and composition too. It's so clear I can almost feel the scales under my fingers. I'm so intrigued, where did you take it and what were the circumstances - it can't be common to come across snakes this venemous (or at least I hope so). TFS Gerhard, brilliant shot and excellent note :)

Superb shot Gerhard!
Excellent details, POV and composition are more than perfect, and the note - very interesting.
I like it very much.
WELL DONE!

wow:) what a beauty green snake:) amaizing :) great photo:) I love DOF here and POV:) really nice:)

rgs


Malgosia

Hi daar. Ja, dit is nogal dinge wat ek mis :P ons het gereeld slange in ons tuin gehad.

This is a lovely shot Gerhard. Sharp, lovely details. Where was it taken ?

Groetnis
Elize

Hi Gerhard, a good shot, very detailed and good colors.

I have read some on snake advice, and this note is very good.

I was kind of close from a snake yesterday and I was lucky my friend saw it. The snake was very little, but got defensive since we were a bit close. I got back a bit and waited until the snake left. Of course I did not wanted to see if it was venomous or not.

TFS Iris

  • Great 
  • puffy Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 289 W: 0 N: 339] (1351)
  • [2005-06-14 0:29]

What a pretty snake you got there Gerhard, I love it!!! She is a beauty! Superb shot! Nice captured, great composition, DOF and colours! She look great!!! Excellent notes, not that NZ have any snake, but its useful when I go back to S.E.Asia. Thanks for sharing.

For a zoo shot its particularly good. One because it was actually moving, and two, because the focus is so clear through glass?
It is a good portrait as the others have said.
Nothing to critique, really well done.

  • Great 
  • Luc Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1835 W: 301 N: 4287] (14767)
  • [2005-06-15 15:10]

Hello MF Gerhard.
Personal assessment of the photo: excellent.
Very strong visual impact.
Aptness of the photo for the site: excellent.
Personal assessment of the note: complete. Thank you for the advices.
Thank you very much for sharing so beautifull pictures.

It's an amazing picture of one of my favorite snakes! However, it is not close to being the most venomous snake in the world, as stated above. That honor belongs to Australia's Inland Taipan. However, more people have no doubt been bitten by the boomslang.

Oh!
I can't stay here anymore :o)

EXCELLENT in point of all things from DOF to colors and fantastic diagonal composition with a soft curved lines of the snake,indeed well captured,....oh!:(

let me back,please,Gerhard!
Yours
M

This is fantastic. I like snakes photos a lot, because these I don't have. This is perfectly composed and sharp. Gread details.

very nice macro shot.
Did you take the photo in captivity?

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