How pros photograph a snake in the wild

So close, his camera lens is almost brushing up against the snake's face.

Say what?

"Yeah, with a 24mm lens the end of the camera is literally just about touching the snake's nose," the snake wrangler said.

Upon approach, Mr Hansen moves towards the snake and - it goes without saying - makes no sudden movements.

"Don't move around erratically," Mr Hansen advised. "The snake will be defensive at the start and might strike at you."

This, he said, is usually all just a game of bluff. The snake is throwing out a few jabs in order to establish what the hell is going on.

"There is an old saying about snakes, that they are first cowards, second bluffers and third warriors," Mr Hansen said.

"Attacking is a last resort. They strike but it's just bluff. Once they realise I'm not there to hurt them, and that I'm not scared by their little defensive display, and that I'm not going away, they settle down and become quite amenable. Of course, that is a generalisation, as snakes are like people and some are just [difficult]."

For the every man, snakes elicit a particular blend of primal horror and fascination - the lethal bites, the creepy slithering, the tongue zipping at warp speed, the exquisite diamond artwork.

Mr Hansen, who collected two copperhead snakes this week after receiving call outs in and out of town, likes to post images of copperheads and others wrigglers he's seen in order to let people have a close-up view without having to wander aimlessly around the bush.

"I like to post photos so people can see snakes to help normalise them as just another animal, and so people can familiarise themselves and get better at identifying the different snakes," he said.

Mr Hansen said snakes enjoying being out and about in 20-30C temperatures. Orange is forecast to have 20C-plus days from Saturday through to Tuesday.

Send us a letter to the editor using the form below ...