Yard Surprise + rpst

Wow!  It took me awhile to locate the head - then I thought I was too close!  Does bear spray work on these guys?

Close enough for me Mark!  In fact too close!  I do wish the head was separated from the body a bit more, maybe a lower angle if possible.  Exposure looks good.  Thanks for sharing.

Yipes! The rattler certainly looks coiled and poised for action to me. Couldn't you get a little bit closer  Richard

Close enough for me too great capture of the moment!

Love it Mark. Lookin' down the gun barrel... Nice dark colored Prairie rattler. I would also like to see the head, mostly so you can see where it is aiming better. Nice work on this. Really good DOF and overall close composition. This seems like a very large rattlesnake with a good set of buttons. I really like the small prairie grasses and the texture they add to this.

While some prefer a more easily seen head, I prefer this image where it blends into its body. Besides, I think the separation is there.  I have had encounters with a lot of rattlers, and when I first see a snake I look for the head first.  In this case finding it requires very careful and close (but not too)  inspection. In this image once we find the head, and it is looking at us with an almost mesmerizing stare, we don't have to search to find it again. For me, it almost causes the rest of it to blur into insignificance thereby providing the separation many prefer. Is this a "good image of a snake'?  Definitely, yes.

I greatly appreciate the comments.  They helped me understand why I wasn't sure about the quality of this image, which is the lack of separation between the snake and it's surroundings.  Given that, I went back and did some dodging and burning through luminosity masks to try to subtly improve the visibility of the snake, especially the head and the rattles.  Here's the result, does it make seeing the snake (and particularly it's head) easier?

Great image of the rattler. I like the way it is coiled and ready for action. I like the processing in thr second image better. I got an image of a Prairie Rattler a few days ago, but it had been very cool and he was very sluggish. 

It works for me, Mark. The focus on the face is very good, it could be made even better by getting closer :):) - but then we might not be looking at this photo, now would we? Seriously, besides the intense stare that it is giving you, what I like about the image is the strong sense of power and size that you get from the contrast between snake and grasses.

You are showing him to us in the perfect, classical threatening pose, with the "S" curve of his raised body, ready to strike.  Good.  I had no real trouble seeing the head in either version, as I live in prairie rattler country and my eye is accustomed to them!  I think the second version looks more natural in contrast and color to most individuals that one finds, but there is always individual variation.  The first posting looked unusually dark.  Given the distance and the shape of a partially coiled snake, I feel your choice of f10 for depth of field was important to keep most of the body in focal zone.  Given that you had to move him away from the house, ideally you might have looked for a setting with natural backdrop (which you have here) but without as much foreground vegetation to intrude.  I know, that is sometimes a tall order!   All in all this works fine for me and I especially appreciate your decently low perspective, and the looking right into his face view.