Many would call me crazy (ok many have) but I am totally entralled with photographing these reptiles. I grew up around and they really don't bother me a great deal as long as I can see them. Now if I can hear them rattle and can't see them well that is a whole different feeling. During all of these I have at least one other person that can manage the snake with a long stick. They are rather inquisitive little devils. I was laying on the ground facing this one and he kept trying to slither towards me, this is where the handlers come into play. Maybe I looked like lunch.

Each snake is caught and transported to a safer place for photographing it. They are easily transported in a cooler. Then when we release them in a safe spot of the shoot we do it in an open gravelled area where they are easy to manage.

In each case of my shooting rattle snakes they are never harmed and are always returned to their own environment. We will however make sure that we do not release them near any homes. They are a protected species in southern Alberta Canada where I took these.