Canon Elan IIe, handheld - On-camera flash Sigma 105 EX Macro Fuji Provia 100 - f5.6, 1/125

Angry?

On the same productive day that netted the Southern Toad and the Hognose Snake, a sudden movement by this fellow made enough noise to attract my attention, probably the way I've caught half of the snakes I've seen over the years. Pay attention to your ears.

This was the first Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) I've ever seen in the wild -- they camouflage very well, and are excellent tree climbers. In attempting to elude my capture once I'd spotted it, it shot out of a small tree onto the ground, littered with leaves, logs, and literally thousands of hiding places. But instinct worked against it in this case -- knowing how its color would stand out against the ground litter, it instead chose to climb some vines to blend in better, and I was able to catch it easily when it did so.

Looks angry, doesn't it? But snakes can't change facial expression, and they have a skull ridge over the eyes to protect them somewhat when burrowing (snakes also have no eyelids) and shield them from the sun, much like hawks.

The fun part was holding onto this guy while changing lenses and adjusting settings on the camera. This is a double-handheld shot -- the camera in one hand, the snake in the other. As you can see, depth-of-field is almost nonexistent, since I needed the shutter speed -- slight movement could have blown the shot. With a couple more hands, I could have worked with some lighting options.

As with all my photo subjects, I let this one go after I got my photos.