Moccasin Eating Bullfrog

Gallery: WildlifePosted January 1, 2013286 views9 comments

A large Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus) swallowing an American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). The photo was taken at Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas, near Houston.

Canon 1D MkIII, Canon EF 500mm+Canon 1.4x Teleconverter. ISO 800, 1/1000 sec., f/5.6. Tripod mounted.

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 1, 2013 at 11:33 AM

A really wonderful capture here with nice colors and just enough of the frog showing to understand what's going on

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on January 1, 2013 at 11:45 AM

Stunning action image. You caught the action just right. The colors and comp. is really great. Also great detail and sharpness.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by David E Lester on January 1, 2013 at 3:29 PM

Love this..perfect!!

Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on January 1, 2013 at 9:01 PM

Perfect. It's great that the frog's eye is visible.

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments

Comment posted by Verdon on January 1, 2013 at 9:03 PM

stunning

Registered on June 10, 2011, 147 Posts, 1444 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on January 2, 2013 at 8:09 PM

I agree that just the right amount of frog is showing to be compelling without graphically off putting. I like the composition and the action. I wonder about the green tint on her/his whiter scales on the bottom and side of the face. Is it reflection from the duckweed or is it the actual color?

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Paul Wolf on January 3, 2013 at 9:16 AM

Thanks all for your comments. Much appreciated. Lon, good question about the color of the snake´s scales. I never noticed that, but I went back to my many originals and found when the flash fired, the color is white. Otherwise, the color came out as you see it in the posted pic. I have a few hundred shots of this encounter and this is consistently the case. I'll bet the real color is white, but I'll research that. In any case, I can either correct my white balance or choose the correct photo to show the true color. Thank you for pointing it out. Important detail for sure!