This one's really for Al.

Nice choice on buying the Canon mate :P As for macro, I took this using 135mm lens with a +2 close up lens bolted on the front. This means of course, I was close to strike-range taking this pic, but she was pretty laid back and not at all aggressive. Took this at Ash, your neck of the woods really .

Interestingly, and I'm not sure why yet...The canon has trouble auto-focusing on adders. MF works a beaut, but must be something to do with adder contrast which foxes the AF, all other reptiles it seems fine.

Autofocus trouble? Weird, don't have that with my 300D... - hope it's OK that I am adding some recent adder pictures of mine (from Belgium) ...

and this is a Vipera seoanei (same Canon EOS 300D still) from SW-France ...

guess what im getting for chistmas ?

paul

Thanks guys for cheering me up on a particularly crap day, I could sit and look at these pics all night

Now the big question, do I buy a Cannon EOS 350D or a 8700 Coolpix?

I really like the top one Al !

Gemma,

I'd say whatever you buy in that price range will deliver the results. What made my mind up was walking into a shop and trying them, actually holding them and seeing how they 'felt'.

Personally I found the Nikon autofocus quite clunky, (Canon USM is lubberly!) and the viewfinder not as clear as the Canon. I think the 350 is a bit lighter than my EOS 20D. The only fault I have with the 20D is it is a little on the heavy side. After a day's tramping about with it round my neck, I feel it. And for some of those 'yoga-position' shots using one hand, you feel the weight too.

I think the coolpix is also an 8Mp camera ?, so no difference there. I do hear the D70 is a bargin at the moment, since they brought out the D70S too.

Vicar wrote: I don't know the species (seoanei), are they similar size to berus ? They seem a more robust build ?

Yes, they are similar. Up until somewhere in the 80's (I think) they used to be treated as a subspecies (Vipera berus seoanei). They live in the north of Spain and both the extreme north of Portugal as well as the extreme southwest of France, thus their range is completely separated from the range of the Adder (see http://www.gli.cas.cz/SEH/images/atlas/pdf/ophidia/vipseo.pdf - SEH atlas map ). The scales on top of the head are often more fragmented and they exhibit a seemingly larger(?) morphological variability, including quite a high number of black individuals. If you'd like to see where my observation came from, you may want to check my http://www.herp.it/jeroen/pyrenees2004.htm - Pyrenees 2004 trip report . There are some more pictures of (partly the same animals) http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/ViperSeoan.htm - here .

I did try the D-ist, after a friend bought one, and I really thought that's what I'd end up with. Yup its very light, but the viewfinder wasn't up to my expectations from Pentax, I personally found it dull and not as crisp as the Canon. The poor sync speed of the Pentax lets it down, otherwise....very nice camera.

Again, a very subjective assessment, but it didn't sit well in my hands either. The body was slightly too small to be comfortable.

Jeroen wrote: Vicar wrote: I don't know the species (seoanei), are they similar size to berus ? They seem a more robust build ? Yes, they are similar. Up until somewhere in the 80's (I think) they used to be treated as a subspecies (Vipera berus seoanei). They live in the north of Spain and both the extreme north of Portugal as well as the extreme southwest of France, thus their range is completely separated from the range of the Adder (see http://www.gli.cas.cz/SEH/images/atlas/pdf/ophidia/vipseo.pdf - SEH atlas map ). The scales on top of the head are often more fragmented and they exhibit a seemingly larger(?) morphological variability, including quite a high number of black individuals. If you'd like to see where my observation came from, you may want to check my http://www.herp.it/jeroen/pyrenees2004.htm - Pyrenees 2004 trip report . There are some more pictures of (partly the same animals) http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/ViperSeoan.htm - here .

If I ever had a reason to visit Northern Spain I've just seen it

Thanks for the camera advice guys, I can't wait to get a new camera, put up with my rubbish Kodak DC280 for years, really annoying when peeps ask how do find adders and I see them all the time and can't get a decent photograph  (nothing like business expenses is there)

PS someone post another piccy, this page has tooooooo much text!

At your command !...this is actually the same Adder as posted above. I should have used a faster shutter .

As you wish ...

I wonder if its worth having a gallery page ?

It would certainly show the variation in colour and patternation, and would drive the standard of photography up in order to get a place on the gallery maybe ?

Just a thought......

Probably only one photo per contributor tho, to give the widest appeal ?

Steve,  we have the server resources to provide photo galleries.

What do people think?

(PS this page now has 3 posts and no piccies )

Such a demanding woman !  I'm out on the Heaths tomorrow, best I take me camera huh ?

Steve,

Was this animal lying there like this or was it handled prior to taking the picture? I'm asking this because I am always assuming snakes to bask with their entire dorsal surface exposed to the sun and not (like this one) covering a part with another part. So, I guess I am wrong?

Here is an adder found in 2003 at Epping Forest - any ideas of what sex? and you can see that the animal is basking with parts of its body on other parts -

Jeroen,

That pic is as I found her, no handling. Managed to see her far enough away to stalk up un-noticed.

Sorry for the size I have another picture I want to share with you  - its a posed shot but I like it

Sorry for being a little of topic but I wanted to share some of my pictures of other European vipers with you all. I have to admit all of  them were taken after capture. These and more pictures of mine are of course also available in my Euroherp Database, so sorry to those who already saw them ...

First an Ottoman Viper (Montivipera xanthina) from NE-Greece ...

Two Nose-horned Vipers (Vipera ammodytes) from Bulgaria

An Asp Viper (Vipera aspis) from the French Pyrenees

and an Orsini's Viper (Vipera ursinii) from Greece

No problem with going slightly off topic there Jeroen, European sp. are always appreciated, going slightly further from the UK, Tony is back from South Africa (welcome back Tony, I still have to do the page for your courses in SA but it is on my to do list ) and has sent through this beauty, anyone know what it is?

Two piccies from Tony:

I have fiddled with the quality of this photo - I hope that it looks okay

JC

PS this is an Essex seawall adder - peldon 2004

Well as nobody has posted any new adder piccies for me for over a fortnight  I thought I had better go do some myself

Enjoy

I can take a hint :P

Not bad.. don't know what has happened to the rest of our members though, they seem to have lost their cameras, or perhaps they just can't find any adders

Hartland immature female from Tony:

 Nice shot Al, also nice to see this thead has topped 1000 views, keep them coming

Like the frame too, makes so much difference, one of the things I noticed on photo.net is that many piccies looks far better when framed on the web.

I've been playing about with this one, made in photoshop by using the blending options and dropping the image onto a slightly oversized canvas. The whole image then got a satin overlay. Not everyones taste I'm sure, but I'm playing with some of the images for some new web ideas.

hello all

This adder was found in March 2004 - Epping Forest - inside a tree stump - a known hibernacula - by Roy Gordon - the adders are singly distributed in small hibernacula in fallen trees etc - which provide cover for the heavy grazing!

That is a stunner Al  Photo.net is cool, I've spent far too much time on there already, great seeing what other people can do with a camera though! I suppose I had better subscribe  

One from today, was playing with the USMs drive mode, I think the focus was much better on single shot, but I suppose you have to try these things.

Ta for the link Lee, , what a superb piccy  any chance of telling us how it was done?

Nice shot Steve, they always have a twig covering their heads or the head totally buried when I try in-situ shots

Lee, now being a total dummy, what exactly do all the numbers mean and what difference does it make. 105mm macro, F8 how does that compare to the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM I'm saving my pennies up for and in real terms what will be the difference in capabilities? Would the USM be capable of producing a piccy as good as yours even with my wobbly fingers pressing the buttons for instance??

Thanks Lee, that actually helps a lot. I was at the stage of having taken in some of the theory but not in a very coherent way, your explanation now makes it all crystal clear, many thanks for taking the time to explain it all.  

Thought I should mention a budget alternative also....

You can use a close-up lens which screws onto the end of your existing lens, much like a filter. You can buy a 'kit' of close-up lenses including a +1,+2,+4 and +10 for around 30 quid for the canon.

The 'advantages' of using a close up lens system are:

1.  Cheap

2.  You don't have to regularly swap lenses, allowing dust ingress to camera body.

3.  You maintain the zoom functionality of the zoom lens (if you have one) which allows you to choose the distance and framing of the shot. This is pretty useful for Brit Herps, as you can't always choose your opportunities.

On the down side, photo quality will usually be better using a 'proper' macro lens, although many zoom lenses have half-decent macro functionality. Most of the distortion you get from a close-up filter is at the picture edges, so If you're digitally cropping, Its not such a big deal.

All of my shots are taken either using the standard zoom (28-135), or the same lens with a +2 screwed on, or in rare cases a +4. I've only ever used the +10 for small insects or sundew ! I don't have a macro lens...yet.

LOL, thanks guys, I'm still looking at the 60mm Macro as the next big purchase but have a much better understanding now of the alternatives and the pros and cons. I suppose I do have an empty space in my camera bag that would hold a 105mm or 180mm macro nicely.

Why am I now having visions of my entire field bag contents being emptied out so I can carry a huge assortment of lenses and having to sell the house to fuel my new interest in photography?

Piccy from Tony illustrating point regarding puff adder,

and in-situ photography, over to Tony's words:

Tony, the guide to posting piccies is at:

http://www.herpetofauna.co.uk/fourm_faqs.htm#Pictures - piccy guide

(oops quick edit of link)

I'm afraid the link went when I updated the forum software, I need to put it back in but it will be the end of September at least before I have time to dig into the asp scripts of the web site again.

The piccies you have sent recently have all been fine for direct posting, if you click this icon  on the post reply box a little browse box should come-up. It lets you find the image you want to post on your computer. Simply browse until you find it, then click OK. A little message will pop up, click OK again and the picture will eventually load. Wait and check all is OK and then click on 'Post Reply'

Regarding in-situ piccies, great in an ideal world, I know sites where I could if I spent all day at them probably get some quite good in-situ shots.

Having said that I don't think a posed picture is any different from animal photographed under artificial refugia, which a lot of people would claim as 'in-situ', hardly natural though.

Most of my shots recently have been from animals that were being moved out of the way of bulldozers, so they had all gone through handling and ID shots in any case. I then took a few aesthetic shots before they made their way off. (Not to worry about the adder, they have only be moved about 3 yards and will be allowed the run of the site again in the spring) Other shots have been of animals that live in our garden, and they were all back under their usual tins a few minutes later none the worse for a few piccies. I think with most things we have our own codes of conduct built from experience. Another example is the ID pages on this site, wouldn't be a great deal of use if they were made up entirely of in-situ shots of animals with their heads buried in the grass.

Cool shot Al, I think comparing the price, a few screw on thingies might be a good edition indeedy, be useful on the EF-S 18-55mm for sure  

Essex adder from my trip out with Jon this morning. She was huge!

Hi Al, we measured her at between 60-61 cm snout to vent, which is about 24 inches.

BTW I ment addition not edition in the post above, I seem to have a habit of typing faster than more brain works these days.

That Brookwood male certainly looks to be a character

Heh, It was Hot tho today Al. Here are a couple of pics of one of my fave Adders at Ash, affectionally known as 'Big Mama', which is more catchy than its other designation of HPG-007 . She's usually in the same basking spot, give or take a metre or so.

Gemma has done very well cajoling (bullying?) people into adding to this thread. Well done everyone loads of pix, over 1700 views and over 100 messages. Just shows adders are number one favourites.

Walked  7 miles or so on the South Coast Path today and it was in the 80 degrees. No reps but lots of butterflies - clouded yellows, silver studded blues and a lot of the more common types.

Only slightly off-topic... what is considered the best way to measure Adders ?

The micro-study I'm doing in Ash woodland is yielding a staggering number of adders in a very small area, I regularly catch them to get decent ID photos, but as for getting out the tape measure....I'm still a lil cautious. I hear Adders are not easily enticed into tubes ? and to be honest, none seem too friendly after being caught either .

I would be interested in this also as I'm now handling the stripey ones again after a 20 year break (once bitten twice shy and all that). Would be useful to know how to collect data with the least stress to the snakes and the handler.. Tony???

I think that tubing is the way to go - I am planning to get a set of tubes from tongs.com - they have a set of 10 sizes - I have got a piece of tubing (2 sizes) from aquatic stores - you have to get the right size otherwise the snake can double back on itself and sometimes gets stuck - I thought that the female we saw on saturday in Essex was well behaved and we got a rough measurement of 60 to 61 cm SVL.

Tony once showed me the pesola scale container - which was a good tube to use - I purchased some of these scales - though the containers has changed from a tube to a snap shut D'oh!

Firstly - great pictures.  Has anyone thought of submitting them to http://www.sciencephoto.com - http://www.sciencephoto.com  - they call themselves the "world's leading provider of science photos" but haven't got anything to match that which has been submitted here.

Secondly - I'm not sure how rigid these tubes have to be but you could possibly use rolled plastic sheeting such as acetate to create a variety of tube widths and lengths?  You can get some quite thick grades.  Much cheaper option...

Tony's tubing piccies