by Howard Cheek
Red-striped Ribbon Snake just after it struck a Leopard Frog, driving it into the bank. There was some grass between my lens & these subjects, but I made the most of capturing the action.. The frog didn't make it, but it almost got away twice. I observed the struggle continue off into the grass, & out of frame. The snake downed first one leg, then the other, with the frog putting up a valiant fight to the end.. This sub-species is native to, and only found in the Edwards Plateau of Texas. The action/behavior here more than makes up for the technical shortcomings IMHO. I may have the only shot of it with an adult Leopard Frog tangling from its mouth.. And that makes me feel good
Full size print in an 8x10 format via purchase link.. Thanx to Paul B. for the title suggestion
F/8, 1/1250th, ISO 640, 5DM3, 300mm f/2.8 + 2x ext @ 1:39pm today. Sunny with the fore to mid-ground in partial shadow.
Comments
12 commentsYes you did make the most of the situation. Looks like the frog almost got away. Thanks for sharing.
Ugh...!!!.....what an action sequence here, Howard. Amazing to see how snakes can consume such large critters through what normally is a small mouth, until dinner time of course.......
The take down shot is the winner here......
Howard, both versions of the take down look good to me. I truly see lots of positives in both images.....
As a person who has only manual focus gear any auto-focus at least gets the job done. I'd still be looking for my loupe or magnifier by the time the frog was consumed.....
Fine capture of the action, Howard. The snake got his prey and you got the shot, but I feel bad for the frog. I like the comp in the repost better and the capture of the frog looks a bit clearer although also a bit darker. Nice work.
"I feel bad for the frog. I like the comp in the repost better and the capture of the frog looks a bit clearer although also a bit darker"
You should've heard the frog squeal, it was hard to watch at times. It took 10 minutes or so for the snake to get em' down. Twice when the snake had just the one leg, it kicked like crazy, almost breaking free.. I was rooting for the frog of course. I was about to approach and try to break it up, but thought better of interfering.
As for the darker part I purposely darkened the frogs head to in my fix. The one large blade of grass gave me fits Scott.. I need to trim more often ;)
Thanx for commenting!
Howard, what a great capture of this fast action. As far as the comp, I think it might be interesting to see what it would look like with a crop from the right side of the original post (at the left edge of the vegetation in the water) and a little off the bottom. I'm not fond of the 2nd comp because the large, bright rock on the left attracts too much attention (IMO).
This is a bit gruesome Howard but it is part of nature. A fine capture with excellent detail but not one I would hang on my wall. Graham
Howard, what a neat catch! Pretty amazing that the frog, which seems so much bigger than the snake, couldn't get away. The original post looks great to me, with both the frog and snake nicely sharp and nothing blocking that part of the view. I also like the rippled water showing the snake's motion.
Incredible action sequence. A little hard to look at but real life often is. Powerful capture
Impressive "takedown", Howard. The fluid motion of both, a sort of death ballet, make for a memorable actions shot.
Hi Howard,
Great action series. It is amazing how a big prey item can fit into the belly of a somewhat small snake.
.....................Jim
Great timing on the single leg, Howard. As an old wrestler I can appreciate good technique from both the camera man and the snake.