PHILADELPHIA: A striking new photography exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia might make people scared of snakes a bit rattled. But there’s no better way to appreciate these incredible creatures up close while staying out of fang’s reach. The snake charmer who created the images is Los Angeles photographer Mark Laita. He spent a year visiting zoos, breeders, collectors and venom labs with a large-format camera.
He captured some of the world’s most poisonous creatures with details so vivid that they seem unreal. These very alive snakes also struck beautifully sinuous poses, too. Twelve of the nearly 100 snakes in his art book, “Serpentine,” were picked for the exhibit running until Sept. 15. Laita photographed each snake right after it molted, when the colors are the most brilliant.
Pennsylvania art exhibit captures deadly, dazzling snakes
