Kalyan Varma

Sidewinding

The last few weeks have been very exciting as we have been traveling to almost all the extreme corners of the country, photographing and filming snakes. From Pit vipers in northeast India to Sind Kraits and Saw-scaled vipers in Rajasthan and to more snakes in the Western Ghats.


Saw-scaled viper sidewinding in the desert

This photograph is one of my favorites from the whole trip and something that I’ve been wanting to photograph for a while now. It was a lot tougher than I thought. I wanted to capture the snake with a wide lens, to shoot the landscape behind it, but then again, this snake is one of the most deadliest snakes in the country and I didn’t want to risk getting bitten. I also had to get a sand dune which overlooked other sand dunes. To make matters worse, I had only one chance per dune to take this shot as once the snake went over it, it would leave its marks behind. I also had to try this early in the morning as the dunes get very hot as the day progresses. After many tries, finally managed this one. I bumped up the contrast a tiny bit in the post to give the dunes more distinct structure.

27 Responses to “Sidewinding”

  1. Radha says:

    This is simply beautiful Kalyan!

  2. Super! When you posted the previous image, I was sure you would have got closer and wider. Glad you shared the image similar to what I had in my mind. When do you plan to post some more images from the extreme corners ?

  3. kaveer rai says:

    like always ….. mesmerizing

  4. Rashmi says:

    What a capture! I was about so say lovely – but I guess “hissssy” would be more appropriate!

  5. Monish says:

    Awesome, brilliant shot…

  6. Amit Mitra says:

    Beutiful shot …. excellent composition just love this ….

  7. Kamaljeet Hora says:

    Beutiful shot

  8. Vijay Venkatesh says:

    This is truly one of your best shots.

  9. Ankit Agarwal says:

    Amazing pic. The story behind the picture makes it even more interesting.

  10. kumaraswamy says:

    Had seen this sort of image in an austin stevens documentary, now here, wonderful image

  11. vinit bajpai says:

    Kalyan

    Lovely photograph of the saw scaled viper. Did you saw the sind krail also? where all you had been to Rajasthan for this shoot?

    • Kalyan Varma says:

      Vinit,
      Yes got to photograph the sind krait. We managed to fine two of them on the trip. Shall post those photos very soon :)

      Kalyan

      • vinit bajpai says:

        Dear Kalyan

        Can you kindly tell that where exactly did you find Sind Kraits in Rajasthan and where did you took this sidewinding-saw scaled vipper photograph .request the location as I am currently staying in Jaisalmer and want to try my luck . Saw scaled vipers are quite common and i encounter them on a daily basis but all the specimens are small while the one clicked by you is a big one.

  12. vinit bajpai says:

    Dear kalyan
    Thanks a ton for your prompt mail. Wishing you all the luck in the days to come. Do visit Jaisalmer sometimes.
    Regards
    Vinit.

  13. Tharangini says:

    It looks totally frozen in action..that too at the speed with which they move… simply wow..

  14. Smita says:

    Amazing Pictures Kalyan..
    I must admit that i have absolutely no idea about photography(my bad) so probably my opinion does not count much..
    Anyways Gotta tell you that i have always been repulsed by reptiles(never bothered looking into their pics) yet the reptile in the desert looked great.. in fact even the lizard did..
    Later i googled on similar images and found them, to my surprise quite interesting..
    Thank you for helping me see a beauty i previously ignored…

  15. Vinit Bajpai says:

    Kalyan
    sent an important mail to you on your INW mail ID. Kindly go through it and send me a reply what you think of it.

    Regards

    Vinit

  16. Avinash says:

    Hi Kalyan

    Read the article on you in the book \Connect the dots\ . Really liked it. I could appreciate more as i had come to your photography workshop. Well written.

    Avinash

  17. Hi Kalyan ..

    Would it be too much to ask you to have a look at the photos that I have taken while on my visit to Kruger National Park and Sabie?

    I also tried an innovative way to take some good photos … All the above photos were taken with my modest Sony Cybershot 7MP Digital Camera … I enhanced the power of my simple Digital See-and-shoot camera using a Binocular.

    http://know-hari.blogspot.com/2010/09/part-2-krugar-national-park.html

    Would appreciate your comments .. Thanks ..

  18. RANJITH says:

    kalyan….go head we need more & more………nothing to say…..no words for me to say about u r snaps

  19. Ashutosh Narayan says:

    Great capture. Sand dunes are so clear

  20. bhargava says:

    really amaizing

  21. Ramya says:

    Hello kalyan sir,, its really amazing photos u captured.. its very nice to see ur photos, i would like to watch ur photos continously..

  22. ravi kumar says:

    mind blowing photography sir, awesome

  23. ravi kumar says:

    mind blowing photography sir,awesome

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