Snakes Alive!

Victoria, Australia. 2007. Ajr

Given the bleakness of the day, I decided to seek something colourful and unexpected in my photo files. This is what I came up with - two shots from last year’s trip to Woodend, which sits approximately 69 km north of Melbourne in Central Victoria. The colourful leucodendrons were on sale at the local florist shop. The madman with a snake wrapped around his neck was a different story. I photographed him at Kyneton – at the annual Agricultural Show. He and his mate were giving a riveting demonstration of snake handling, complete with all the information you'd ever need on of Australia’s most venomous snakes. I’m not a big fan of snakes but there is this perverse fascination that draws me to them – and then of course I reel back in horror.