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Critter of the Week – Snakey poo

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I wanted to improve my photography skills before purchasing a new/different/funner lens.  One day I wanna be uber-awesome at my paparazzi shots so that my future kids can be plastered all over my home.  So what is the closest thing to a squirmy child?  Critters.  Hence the title of this new exploration into picture-taking – “Critter of the Week”.

 

I will try to take photos of critters and post them so that if you are like me (coughsuckatphotographyotherthanautocough), you can learn too!  This week was using the Aperture Priority setting.  And using the Pattern metering mode on my Canon. 

 

Now let’s greet our first contestant – Meet Mr. Snakey Poo.

ISO – 100   F-number  F/6.3  Shutter Speed 1/49

ISO – 100   F-number  F/6.3  Shutter Speed 1/49

 

And I only had to take fourteen shots to get these two in focus.  (that’s really good for me!)  Especially since the entire time I was laying down on the driveway I was whimpering due to the possibility that the little snake could lunge at my jugular.  So what if he was only 9 inches long?!?!  I could have died.  Snakey Poo puts the “eek” in Critter of the week! 

 

Are you also interested in learning photography?  Wanna join in?  Take a photo of your favorite critter (yes, boyfriends & husbands count too!) and post about it.  Then come back here and leave a link to the post in the comments.  Otherwise, carry on 🙂

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  1. Those turned out really well! I would just keep an eye on your shutter speed, it’s really easy to get camera shake and with moving animals motion blur at that slow of a shutter speed.

  5. Thanks Michele Louise for the photog tip…I will definitely have to start with only slow moving animals 🙂

    Hi Gia – I have a Canon Rebel XSi…and I would totally marry it if I wasn’t already taken 🙂

    Hey there Austin…I know you said that just so you could use the word ‘ballsy’ 🙂 No idea what kinda snake…someone said a brown snake…but I don’t know if that is the name or just the indicator of color. hmm.

    XO – Katie

  8. I cannot believe that you got that close to him. Eeek!

    I really would love to learn more about photography, but I have to save up for a great camera first, my little $80 point and shoot is not the greatest.

  9. pretty fun shots! and totally creeping me out. Michele nailed it, you can drop your aperture (since you’re in aperture priority) to give you more room in your shutter speed … you can also turn your ISO up too. I prefer spot metering as well.

  12. Good shots 🙂 i wouldn’t have gotten near that close to him… or lets just say I would have ran squealing and looking for another object to shoot! like a nice safe flower that didn’t have any critters! haha they creep me out!

  16. Hi Alissa – actually my lens was set the lowest it goes for aperture settings. I guess that means that I need a macro lens, huh? Could you email my boyfriend and tell him that? kay thanks 🙂 No seriously though…what is the ISO that you guys start getting fuzzy photos on?…mine is 400.

    And don’t fret my pets…this creepy crawler was smaller around than my pinky. No attacks. But I barely survived 🙂 I am loving the links to your photog critters! Keep em coming!

    XO – Katie

  17. Katie — Shooting at an ISO of 800 or below is best to avoid the ‘grainy’ look that I think you describe as fuzzy. 1600 can definitely produce grainy photos unless you’re using a noise reduction filtering program in your camera (not sure about Canon DSLRs, but Nikons have that setting available).

    Higher ISO speeds (e.g. 400 or 800) are better for low-light settings while lower ISO speeds (100 or 200) are great for full-sun or really bright conditions. When in doubt, though, I’d recommend to set ISO at 400 for all conditions.

    Great new series and nice photo of the snake! Definitely looking forward to this weekly post — and since photography is a serious hobby of mine, hopefully I’ll finally have something to contribute instead of my total noob reno-know-how. 🙂

    For this week, here a link to a picture of one of my kittens. Spike’s a total camera whore. 🙂

  18. BTW, I’m not sure if you use Flickr, but if this is a recurring series and other people would like to contribute/share, I’d be happy to set up a pool for Bower Power!

  19. I started out with an XT (older version of the XSi) and I started to get grainy photos at ISO 800, but if you are shooting jpg and you turn on the in camera noise reduction as Jill suggested that will help.

    As for the aperture, you don’t need a macro lens (though I do love mine) that will just allow you to get really close to things. You need a lens that opens to a wider aperture. A great budget conscious one to look into is the Canon 50mm f/1.8.

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html

  20. Hi Jill – it looks like I am gonna have to search out how to ensure my noise reduction option is deployed! Thanks so much for the tip and the info about ISO….I have locked it in my brains for future critters!

    Howdy Michele – you know what is crazy?!?! THAT is the exact lens that tops my current wish list! Glad to hear a positive recommendation!

    Loving LOVE-to-the-ING your critter photos ya’ll!

    XO – Katie

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