Dream Trip 2009

Great Travel Moment

I am unsure as to how long this snake had been watching me before I saw it in the bush just beside me, extraordinarily well camouflaged. I was in Kenya to study monkeys and, therefore, very focused on the jungle canopy. I was startled to see this creature coiled and hidden at shoulder level. Yet he was so beautiful...eyes with patterns like a fan coral under the sea and scales like tiny overlapping leaves. I photographed this prickly bush viper for some time but in retrospect it seems he was poised to strike me. I love his gaze, framed by his body with a seed above and a leaf below. This snake taught me about humility, fear, and walking a fine line between danger and discovery. The feeling lingers and when I look at this image a surge of adrenaline rushes through me all over again.