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.


What’s the film about ?

World Health Organization estimates suggest that over one million people are bitten by snakes in India each year; between 20,000 and 50,000 of these prove fatal, as many as the rest of the world combined. Although shocking, these statistics are still just estimates and as such sadly hold diminished weight. There is presently no conclusive data that confirms exactly what the situation is. But this is all set to change later this year when the Registrar General in Delhi announces the findings of the most extensive survey of snake bites in India ever.  The results are rumored to confirm the most extreme predictions.

So WHY are so many people in India still dying from snake bites each year? India is home to only one of the World’s 10 most deadly snakes yet the number of fatalities far exceeds this statistic.

SNAKE BITES will probe the fascinating natural history that lies behind the report’s findings. Herpetologist, Romulus Whitaker, will unpack not only the statistics but the particular species of snakes that are driving them, taking us on an eye opening excursion through the world of India’s venomous snakes. From the Hook-nosed Sea Snake of the Gulf of Mannar to the Black Cobras of the deserts of Rajasthan, Rom will get up-close and personal with these magnificent animals.

Personally, I’m very excited to work on the project because of the excellent team. We will also be working with some amazing gear. From very high speed Photron SA-3 cameras which were used in Planet Earth to film the sharks, to time-slice rigs which were used in the Matrix movie to get the bullet time sequence.