Striking_a_pose
This is no zoo animal. it came unexpectedly to our home. This is a Spectacled Cobra ( Naja naja )
This photo was taken on August 8, 2006 in Mysore, Karnataka, IN.
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Comments and faves
noahg., LA Lassie, Tut99 (Roger), The Strongest Girl, and 25 other people added this photo to their favorites.
^Sandra^ (71 months ago | reply)
o.O! sorprendente!
The World Through My Eyes
RedHeadMamma (71 months ago | reply)
Yikes! This is gonna give me nightmares!
** This was voted a hit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
riccardomuccio (71 months ago | reply)
Cool and scary
(COMMENT on as many PHOTOS as you POST)
trouble-maker (71 months ago | reply)
wow, so near~
** This was voted a HIT from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
Harold_5056 (71 months ago | reply)
Score _9_/10 (from the Score Me! group)
brunkfordbraun (71 months ago | reply)
Oooh, neat capture.
Harold_5056 (71 months ago | reply)
** This was voted a hit from Hit, Miss or Maybe **
~ Panache (71 months ago | reply)
whaooo....thats a scary pose
Score 7/10 (from the Score Me! group)
riccardomuccio (71 months ago | reply)
Score 7/10 (from the Score Me! group)
S@NJAY (71 months ago | reply)
wow!! king cobra?
Score 9/10 (from the Score Me! group)
concertayouch (71 months ago | reply)
Wow, I hope you had a big lens allowing you to be quite far away from there.
TheWorldThroughMyEyes
" www.nicolalecca.it " (71 months ago | reply)
Score 7/10 (from the Score Me! group)
PitsLamp photography (71 months ago | reply)
Great shot, hope you didn't get bitten
From (COMMENT on as many PHOTOS as you POST)
noahg. (71 months ago | reply)
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noahg. (71 months ago | reply)
Great shot!
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Animal Kingdom
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shivanayak (71 months ago | reply)
ohhh
ram.rom82 (71 months ago | reply)
Great shot! It is amazing!
LA Lassie (71 months ago | reply)
Totally awesome shot. I thought it was pretty bad having a full-size Copperhead slither upon my back porch, as I sat less than 3 feet from it. But to have one of these buddies......well, glad it was at your place not mine. What did you do with it?
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You are my winner!
Please add this photo to
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Sergio Lubezky (71 months ago | reply)
Thnak you for rating and posting in the 100 Points group!
LA Lassie (71 months ago | reply)
Rating #1:
And now, I have the opportunity to be the one to give your photo it's first rating. As I said earlier........totally awesome photo. Love the title, also! Very appropriate, to say the least.
Your photo is crystal clear where it should be crystal clear - on the cobra's head. The hood itself is amazing to view on large size. When I did, I thought I saw the flicker of it's forked tongue. Am I right or wrong? The eyes are so piercing.
The color is perfect and I like the out-of-focus little green leaf in the background. It meshes with the other blurred background pulling the viewer's eyes back to the snake's head. Also all of the different colors in the background, puts the emphasis back to the markings of the Cobra. To me, under the conditions you were under......it deserves a perfect score.
Rated 10 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
hmaxwell (71 months ago | reply)
Good gravy!!
I thought the scorpions and tarantulas we have in my yard were bad enough. And maybe one rattlesnake a decade....even if you get bitten by any of these, you have an excellent chance of survival with rapid, appropriate medical care. I'm not so sure the same is true of the cobra.
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I know, every place has its own hazards to be dealt with, and I'm sure to many people the idea of coming across a five inch tarantula in the garden is terrifying. But they move SLOOOOWLY. Not so with cobras.
That being said, this is a stunning shot. Mesmerizing. Enchanting. Terrifying, but beautiful.
Predi (71 months ago | reply)
Rating #2:
Priceless as a document - I can't help thinking how far away you were from it! And the snake looks like it's about to attack! Great picture! After adding some contrast and doing something with this distracting bright bacground it could be a good magazine cover :-)
Rated 7 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Darny (71 months ago | reply)
HISSSS!!! Ugh, I can tell you used the flash, and here, that's a bad thing. THere are some overexposed bits on this body, and it throws me off some. Also, we lost some definition in his head/face. Kind of hard to make out at first. But your short focus gives him some depth, which is nice.
Rating #3:
Rated 6 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
*saxon* (71 months ago | reply)
The lovely close crop increases the feeling of fear generated by the scary snake. The flash reflects off the skin however, and there is a lot out of focus. The leaf in the background is also distracting, could it be cloned out?
This is a good photo, almost great.
Rating #4:
Rated 6 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
soylentgreen23 (71 months ago | reply)
Rating #5:
Not a bad photograph by any means, there're things here to like a lot, and there are things you'll want to change for next time.
First up - angle of shot. This is excellent. There's nothing like taking a photograph of something totally wild and getting down to its level - it shows a lot of respect, and a lot of effort, though usually the reward is a photograph that looks all the better for it.
Second - the flash. If the lighting conditions weren't good, you'd have had no choice but to throw some flash on the subject to get the picture at all, but if it had been possible to shot sans-flash I like to think you would have done. It makes the snake look artificial - either really artificial, like plastic, or artificial like in a zoon.
Third - the depth of field. I think you've used a really wide aperture (which concerns me, since the flash was also used), though you've done well to focus right in on the snake's head. That part is in focus, which is marvellous, but the rest of the image isn't, which makes the right half of the picture less than it could have been. It might be worth cropping and reinforcing the vertical by halving this image.
Overall, this is, as Predi says, this is a great document, a record of you seeing a snake like this and getting up close and personal. I think you're next shot will be the classic one though, not this.
Rated 6 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Steve from NJ (71 months ago | reply)
Certainly points for bravery. I like the composition very much. Nice details on his face, and the DOF works well. The leaf is a little distracting, but I guess you don't want to reach out and move it. As others mentioned, the flash hurts a little, the reflection spots are a little distracting. Overall an impressive capture.
Rating #6:
Rated 7 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Kman999 (71 months ago | reply)
Striking image. Well captured moment; good focus on the head, no great problem with the body being increasingly out of focus. Lighting quite good.
Ideally, some other element of interest would have finished off a great image.
Rating #7:
Rated 8 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
skycaptaintwo (71 months ago | reply)
If this animal came in to your home, you obviously must live in a different part of the world from me. If this animal was in my house, I might have been inclined to grab something other than my camera - like a gun. OK, I don't have a gun. Maybe a baseball bat.
Your photo clearly shows the snake, but the composition could be improved.
Is the ground tilted, or am I just off-balance? That aspect didn't jump out at me initially, but once I noticed it I really started to get annoyed.
Also, there are some distracting things like a leaf (or something green) that doesn't belong in the image with the snake.
Finally, I think the whole snake should be in focus.
Rating #8:
Rated 6 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
Adam Capps (71 months ago | reply)
I can't say that I could offer anything but reinforcement of others comments. The spots from the flash are a little distracting. Was this a built-in? If not, you should have attempted to bounce it and/or diffused it a little. Nice focus, well done with getting down low. I hope your lense was minimum 200mm!
Rating #9:
Rated 7out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
shalf (71 months ago | reply)
The depth of field, with sharp focus on the head, rules. That gives it a real sense of presence. Being apparently in range, makes the snake personal.
Rating #10:
Rated 8 out of 10 in the 100 Points group.
EssjayNZ (70 months ago | reply)
Final rating in the 100 Points group is 71 Points.
Well done!
Please request entry and publish this photograph in the 70-79 Points group and thank you very much for participating in the 100 Points group.
Tut99 (Roger) (70 months ago | reply)
Excellent shot! You can keep the model. I don't want him by my home.
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I really love your animal photo!
You are invited to post this photo to Spectacular Animals, invite only
http://www.flickr.com/groups/spectacular_anim als/
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Seen in a discussion of Animal Kingdom:Amazing Photos of Creatures (INVITE ONLY!). (?)
S.Das (70 months ago | reply)
Tut99 - Thank you for your invitation to post this in Spectacular Animals
Tut99 (Roger) (70 months ago | reply)
You are welcome! My pleasure.
1blessedmom Photography (70 months ago | reply)
Wow . . . I'd be scared out of my mind. Nice shot.
(Spectacular Animals)
velyogendra [deleted] (69 months ago | reply)
Beautiful color! Nice photo! I love cobras. This photo helps me to realize why the cobra is sacred.
Nori Almeida (60 months ago | reply)
I want one for me
Let there be light (Andy) (56 months ago | reply)
Wow!
Captain Suresh (47 months ago | reply)
Excellent image ! As most have praised in words already. Well composed with low hood.
Chipmix*** (47 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called ~NATURE+ [post 1: award 5]~, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
PRAMOD SUMANT (47 months ago | reply)
This beautiful photo seen in :
"World Nature & Wildlife Closeup"
Post 1 Comment 3
Chipmix*** (47 months ago | reply)
Excellent shot, well done!
Have a wonderful week!
This is a stunning image, congratulations!
www.flickr.com/groups/natureplus/
2 photo each day, Post 1: Award 5
sabine_in_singapore (47 months ago | reply)
This is a stunning image, congratulations!
www.flickr.com/groups/natureplus/
2 photo each day, Post 1: Award 5
mrsgoofy5 (47 months ago | reply)
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The Nature Group
Wow !!
earlyalan90 away awhile (47 months ago | reply)
This is a stunning image, congratulations!
www.flickr.com/groups/natureplus/
2 photo each day, Post 1: Award 5
wow amazing strikingly beautiful
hope you kept plenty of distance with a long zoom
LIBRRIAN ~ catching up slowly (47 months ago | reply)
Man, worrying about focus, flash, leaves. If I had taken that shot, you wouldn't be able to see it for the trembling of my hands. My compliments to you for getting a shot at all. It is just great - scary and beautiful.
This is a stunning image, congratulations!
www.flickr.com/groups/natureplus/
2 photo each day, Post 1: Award 5
Steven House Photography (47 months ago | reply)
Fabulous.
The Nature Group
miss_halford (47 months ago | reply)
This is beautiful!
This is a stunning image, congratulations!
www.flickr.com/groups/natureplus/
2 photo each day, Post 1: Award 5
Mondmann (47 months ago | reply)
BluAlien (47 months ago | reply)
Wow I hope no one got bit!