Wild Adder (vipera berus) close ups...pushing the limits some!

[Testudo Man]

Last Saturday was quite cool, air temps were approx 8c, so it was ideal conditions for finding some Adders. Besides, i could only find the one Butterfly on the wing, so i needed my Spring time "Adder Fix".

Panasonic G80/45-150mm used. Coupled with a 500D close up filter...Just to push the limits some more, i stacked two 500D close up filters together(for the really close up shots).
Handheld, Jpegs, basic editing. None of these images have been cropped.

4 Adders seen on the day, 2 males, a female, an a possible juvenile female?

I never handle Adders, i never try to move them, i photograph them exactly as i find them in the wild.

Note - Always show caution when getting this close to an Adder. Ive been observing Adders for well over a decade now, so i have some understanding, when it comes to how these beautiful creatures might react.

Several images, cheers Paul.

Male Adder (vipera berus). No cropping. by Tort Man (out of hibernation!), on Flickr

Male Adder (vipera berus). No cropping. by Tort Man (out of hibernation!), on Flickr

Female Adder (vipera berus). No cropping. by Tort Man (out of hibernation!), on Flickr

Male Adder (vipera berus). No cropping. by Tort Man (out of hibernation!), on Flickr

Male Adder (vipera berus). No cropping. by Tort Man (out of hibernation!), on Flickr

 

[Cobra]

Very nice Paul

 

[Testudo Man]

Very nice Paul

Thanks for that Chris.

Here is a pull back/environmental shot of one of the male Adders. He is in the early stages of sloughing/shedding his hibernation skin...but he was still very much on the alert! I had to almost lay down on the woodland floor, whilst slowly getting closer an closer. Your cant look through the viewfinder(too close/dangerous to subject) so you have to shoot using the rear screen.

Male Adder (vipera berus). No cropping. by Tort Man (out of hibernation!), on Flickr

 

[Lepus]

I think your understanding of the Adders shows in your photos , I know of a couple of good Adder sites semi local , but I never manage to find them there , quite frustrating . Nice to see them in your photos . I was made aware that disturbing Adders early in the year when coming out of Hibernation often results in them dying , but you will no doubt be aware of that , unlike some other individuals I know of . I wonder if you should invest in a longer close focusing lens , save you and the Adders needing you to get so close , just a thought .

 

[Gav.]

Lovely images good to know care was taken

 

[Testudo Man]

I think your understanding of the Adders shows in your photos , I know of a couple of good Adder sites semi local , but I never manage to find them there , quite frustrating . Nice to see them in your photos . I was made aware that disturbing Adders early in the year when coming out of Hibernation often results in them dying , but you will no doubt be aware of that , unlike some other individuals I know of . I wonder if you should invest in a longer close focusing lens , save you and the Adders needing you to get so close , just a thought .

Cheers, the time to find Adders easily has almost past. Once they slough/shed their hibernation skin, the males will want to find a receptive female, an mate her ASAP. Then both males an females will disperse an hunt for food. The females that mated will not feed, they will bask throughout the year, an give birth to their live young around August onwards. So females sighted basking tend to be gravid (after April). The optimum time to sight Adders is March to April (when the temps are not too hot) before the vegetation grows.

Ive used long lenses in the past (when keeping distance)...its all about balance, knowing your subject, keeping their stress levels to a minimum. I generally wouldnt attempt these types of really close up shots, when the snake has shed/sloughed or later on in the year, when our UK Reptiles are way more active.
Its rare to find Adders out in the open/sitting on a log/rock...but over the years, i have been lucky an found Adders in near perfect surroundings....................................but, i would not touch/move the snake, in order to try to capture that pefect shot..................................................an as you say, when you see these perfect Adder shots(theres plenty of them out there) then you know that the snake has been handled/moved, just so the photographer can get their shot.
Im fully aware that Adders can be prone to stress(especially when they are weak from a 3 to 4 month sleep!)..........................so if the snake moves away, leave it alone, in a short time, it will return to bask..............................if you cant make the shot.............................theres always another day.

Lovely images good to know care was taken

Thanks, as i said above, its all about balance, at the end of the day, the snakes welfare must come first. Ive been out in the field many many times over the years, an for the most part, come away with no images.........................but, if you put enough time into it, you can get lucky.

 

[alfbranch]

Nice set Paul
It would be illegal for most people to touch an Adder. I feel I have been successful if I get a shot and move away with no movement from the snake when I turn back and look after a few minutes.

 

[tikkathreebarrel]

Lovely photos, quite inspirational.

 

[MartynK]

I like snakes and enjoyed looking at your images, but I must admit I've never seen one in the UK and I'd be very wary of getting this close to your 'subjects' South African relatives!

 

[Paul Iddon]

Excellent Paul.

Never seen one myself, so good that you have the oppo.

Paul.

 

[Testudo Man]

Nice set Paul
It would be illegal for most people to touch an Adder. I feel I have been successful if I get a shot and move away with no movement from the snake when I turn back and look after a few minutes.

Thanks, as ive said, i never touch Adders...but there are plenty of idiots out there who do pick them up!!........School holidays/breaks can be bad for Adders too, because you will always get kids/teens coming across a Adder, an the kids 1st response might be to pick up a stick/rock an just kill the snake for "s***s an giggles"
Adders have always been persecuted, they are an endangered species, they are preyed upon by Corvids/Raptors, even Pheasants can an will prey on the neonates/juveniles!
I guess "man" is their biggest threat! through loss of habitat etc etc. I know 5 locations within 10 miles or less from me here in Kent(but many more sites have Adder colonies)...In the last 12 years, ive seen dramatic changes in 2 locations that i visit, resulting in much lower numbers of snakes in these areas.

Lovely photos, quite inspirational.

Thanks for that.

I like snakes and enjoyed looking at your images, but I must admit I've never seen one in the UK and I'd be very wary of getting this close to your 'subjects' South African relatives!

Cheers, whilst our UK Adders are venomous, they are nowhere near as poisonous as their African/Australian cousins.

Excellent Paul.

Never seen one myself, so good that you have the oppo.

Paul.

Cheers Paul, even after all these years, its still great to see Adders in the wild.

 

[turbotoes]

Very nice shots of a beautiful (sadly misunderstood) animal. Nice to have back story and kit details too

 

[Stuart Philpott]

Hey mate...Paul first up I adore the images........................"Pushing it" is a huge debate I have with myself to me what you are doing is aspirational( I can't spell it bro but ya get my drift ) years of quietly working out a subject.almost working with a subject.

It is that isn't it, working with...................trying to figure all the angles to allow one into a place where there isn't conflict............. find images........... back out.......... subject given huge respect years there of.

It's hard finding this " happy place" Paul.with any bird or beastie this is hard won !!..........I think ,(very humbly is the I think), this is where the "cheddar" is ................this is where the images are this is what we all should be trying to do

The images aren't about luck. although that always helps....they are found, incredibly slowly, ground out quietly

Probably the most inspiring post I've seen here for a while bro..nowt to do with previous kindness and wisdom shared with ickle spotty brown flutterbys mate.

Your post just makes me personally want to be better try harder............

The question that arises is how does one do the above with many many species in one lifetime?

Fair play bud damn I love this ^

 

[K9Kirk]

Very nice set. the first and last shots are my favorites.

 

[Testudo Man]

Hey mate...Paul first up I adore the images........................"Pushing it" is a huge debate I have with myself to me what you are doing is aspirational( I can't spell it bro but ya get my drift ) years of quietly working out a subject.almost working with a subject.

It is that isn't it, working with...................trying to figure all the angles to allow one into a place where there isn't conflict............. find images........... back out.......... subject given huge respect years there of.

It's hard finding this " happy place" Paul.with any bird or beastie this is hard won !!..........I think ,(very humbly is the I think), this is where the "cheddar" is ................this is where the images are this is what we all should be trying to do

The images aren't about luck. although that always helps....they are found, incredibly slowly, ground out quietly

Probably the most inspiring post I've seen here for a while bro..nowt to do with previous kindness and wisdom shared with ickle spotty brown flutterbys mate.

Your post just makes me personally want to be better try harder............

The question that arises is how does one do the above with many many species in one lifetime?

Fair play bud damn I love this ^

Thanks for the kind words mate, its very much appreciated.
Having a stubborn obsessive behaviour, probably pushes me that little bit futher! But your right, whatever subject we choose, be it Reptile/Bird/Butterfly/Odonata/Bugs etc etc...its all about how much time we are prepared to put in, in order to observe/record behavoural moments we might see, when we place ourselves in the right habitats, at the right time.
10 years ago, whilst observing 1 of my Adder colonies, i recorded Adder combat/dance/mating, then watching that mated female bask all year, up until August time, when i knew she would give birth to her young. The chances of me witnessing her give birth were slim to none!.....................so i actually contemplated taking time off work, camping in the woods, close by to her favourate basking spots, just to witness the birth. This idea was crazy, an i didnt do it.....................but i thought about doing it. Needless to say i missed the birth (an i still havent seen a live Adder birth yet) but some people have been fortunate enough to see/record this.
Anyway, i took my youngest son to the location one day, an i explained to him just how tiny baby Adders are, an how hard it might be to find these newborns...an he pointed to a small log an said - "Hey dad, is that a baby snake"............................sure enough it was!!! We found 6 baby Adders that day, so yeah, i missed the birth............who knows, one day i might get lucky an witness a birth.

The thread title reads - "Pushing the limits some"...Its a double meaning...yes i got close to the Adders...but mainly, its because i stacked 2 double element 500D close up filters together, attached to my 45-150mm lens, extended the lens fully to 150mm (F/F equiv. 300mm) an shot images from f/5.6 to f16, with just the thinnest focal point/plane to work with(because the stacked close up filters completely alter DOF/focal point etc.)...This was challenging...given the subject an the kit/equipment used. But we are in the macro/close up section of the forum...an i do like a challenge.

PS. went out for another Adder session yesterday, just gotta sort through the images 1st though.
Cheers Paul

Very nice shots of a beautiful (sadly misunderstood) animal. Nice to have back story and kit details too

Cheers Tara, i did use another camera set up/kit as well, which enabled me to get in even closer.

Very nice set. the first and last shots are my favorites.

Thanks for that Kirk.

 

[Stuart Philpott]

As always cheers for the fab reply the details bro............hmm the story of your son is heartwarming ..Paul that's a lovely thing......funny I would also have contemplated taking time off work and probably bottled it as i'm too damn nice ( Mind I like crazy ) That said I really try to listen to that little voice in my head saying you must go to this spot for this " happening"............I gave up something I have quested for for years last year and honestly wonder if I'll ever be in that place again.....life is tough at the bottom huh.........
Oh and yes me olde mate I didn't clock what section I was in and missed the title by a country mile Ahh well Paul I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the box !! It's nice when stuff flies over one's head....keeps wonder in the world

Being stubborn is is such an asset, I wouldn't know about obsessive .....................honest

 

[Dale.]

Nice work, dedication, knowledge and welfare of subject is very apparent.