This is not your typical 9 to 5 job.  I’ll prove it.

North Pacific Rattlesnakes - Crotalus Oreganus, Tuesday May 21, 2013 in Sebastopol at Sonoma County Reptile Rescue in Sebastopol. Calls for rattlesnake removal have nearly tripled this year. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

I texted my wife and told her I was on call to photograph snakes.  “Ewwww!”  she texted back.  She doesn’t like snakes.  Can you count the number of snakes in the photo?  No, there isn’t a prize if you guess correctly.

I asked Al Wolf of  Sonoma County Reptile Rescue if the rattlesnake (below) could strike while in the tongs. He said no.  Even so, I shot the photo with a longer lens.

Al Wolf of Sonoma County Reptile Rescue uses a pair of snake tongs to display a North Pacific Rattlesnake - Crotalus Oreganus, Tuesday May 21, 2013 in Sebastopol. Calls for rattlesnake removal have nearly tripled this year. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

Yep, taking no chances on the job.

Rincon Valley firefighters scramble over debris as they fight a barn/debris/vegetation fire at Gaddis Nursery on Piner Road, Tuesday May 21, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

I’ve pretty much given up trying to decontaminate my car.  The upholstery smells forever like a burnt taco.  So do my boots.  Boss Chad Surmick wondered if I had covered a fire on Wednesday.  “That was yesterday (Tuesday).”  I said.  I can’t help that my alter ego wanted to be a firefighter.

Closed to auto traffic, the peloton rolls across the Golden Gate Bridge during the final stage of the Tour of California, Sunday May 19, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

I suggested to Mr. Surmick that we send our newbie photog (and very talented) Conner Jay, on a moto for the Amgen Tour of California.  He’s in this picture, on the right hand side.  If you look close you can see him grimacing.  Not really.  He tells me he was smiling.  Thanks Conner, I just got straightened out from last years ride.  That left me to find some nice spots to photograph the race.

Santa Rosa's team BMC Racing including overall winner Tejay van Garderen in yellow, roll across the Golden Gate Bridge during the final stage of the Tour of California, Sunday May 19, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

If one really looks around, it’s very difficult to find a road in Sonoma County that doesn’t have an annoying utility pole to mess up a pretty scenic. I found one spot with green pastures that made for a nice image.  Can you find the utility pole in this photo?

Tejay van Garderen of team BMC, left in yellow jersey is protected by the peloton as they roll through pastoral hills at the Sonoma, Marin County line on Highway 1 during the final stage of the Tour of California, Sunday May 19, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

 

Crews from the Konocti Conservation Camp search Anderson State Marsh in Clearlake, Wednesday May 15, 2013 before authorities reported the nine year-old was found dead in Cache Creek. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

The daunting task that searchers faced while looking for nine year-old Mikaela Lynch was enormous.  The brush in the photo was nine feet in places.

Ballerinas from the Santa Rosa Youth Ballet Company prepare to run their centipede at the Human Race in Santa Rosa, Saturday May 11, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

Another Human Race race in Santa Rosa.

The Murphy-Goode Winery team takes to the Russian River prior to the Third annual Great Russian River Race and Race Party, Saturday May 4, 2013 in Healdsburg. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

I missed the start of the Great Russian River Race last year. I’m glad I didn’t this year.

Competitors sprint toward their canoes at the start of Third annual Great Russian River Race and Race Party, Saturday May 4, 2013 in Healdsburg. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

The Third annual Great Russian River Race and Race Party gets under way, Saturday May 4, 2013 in Healdsburg. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

Jennifer Neeley dresses as Wonder Woman for the Human Race each year and raises money for the West County Health Centers, Friday May 3, 2013 in Guerneville. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

It’s not everyday you get to meet Wonder Woman. Really.

Marty Peterson of Petaluma dressed as a cow as he entered his daughter Maggie Mae in the Cutest Little Chick contest prior to the Petaluma Butter and Egg Days Parade, Saturday April 27, 2013. At right is his wife Jennifer. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

Human to space visitor “If you want me to take you to our leader, lets wait till after parade season.”  This scene can only happen in Sonoma County.

Specatators watch during the Petaluma Butter and Egg Days Parade in Petaluma, Saturday April 27, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

This scene too.

Robin, at the Butter and Egg Days Parade. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

A wide angle lens was not the appropriate choice for this photo.

Samantha Andrews, 12, waits for the Petaluma Butter and Egg Days Parade to begin, Saturday April 27, 2013. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

 A telephoto worked on this one though.

Chris Towt, Saturday April 20, 2013, surveys the 2,000 acre Montgomery Creek Ranch near Stonyford that Towt and his wife Ellie Phipps Price use to graze 172 head of wild mustangs that Phipps Price rescued as the horses were headed for slaughter. Phipps Price owns Dunstan Wines /Durel Vineyards in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

Sometimes while shooting, you get the right moment.

Wild mustangs gallop over northern California rangeland which were rescued by Ellie Phipps Price, The mustangs were head for slaughter when she stepped up and rescued 172 of the animals that now graze on rangeland at her Montgomery Creek Ranch near Stonyford, Saturday April 20, 2013. Phipps Price owns Dunstan Wines /Durel Vineyards in Sonoma. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013

What’s up next?  Life.

-Kent Porter

 

 


 

 

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