Taken at a "model shoot" in McClure, PA, June, 2010, organized by Joe McDonald. Many of the reptiles and amphibians were from the collection of Dave Northcott, who helped keep them happy and photogenic (and non-murderous) throughout the five days of intensive photography.

Several people have asked if these photographs were taken "in the wild." Nope. I can't afford the frequent flyer miles, and also some of the critters are shy, nocturnal, and/or a wee bit antagonistic if taken by surprise. All of the shots were done in an indoor or outdoor studio set, with props to make the animals feel (and look) at home, and with artificial flash to allow narrow aperture and good depth of field. Since there were no barriers between lens and animal, we were advised not to get too close to the potentially dangerous reptiles, and were careful to follow this advice closely.