“My craziest story would be… I was at Coyote Ridge Nature Preserve and I was photographing some prairie dogs. I was laying on the ground trying to get some better angles of the prairie dogs with some landscape in the background. Then I start to hear a rattle, so I look over to my left and there’s a rattlesnake curled up two feet away from my face, staring right at me (keep in mind rattlesnakes are highly venomous). I was definitely scared out of my mind, but at the same time I was excited because it was my first rattlesnake I saw that year. I slowly got up, backed away, but then layed back down about six feet away to get shots of the rattlesnake. I’m getting some pictures when all of a sudden I hear another rattle, and I’m like, ‘What the heck, that’s coming from a different direction.’ I get up and there’s another rattlesnake slithering towards me, and at this point I’m kinda freaking out. I back up and I’m still taking pictures of them this whole time, but trying not to get too close, but then one just darts right towards me and I decide enough is enough, and I start heading back to the trail. It was pretty scary, but at the same time pretty awesome because I’ve never been that close with rattlesnakes before. I probably saw at least 12 wild rattlesnakes that day.”

Check out more of Brian’s work at http://www.briangengephotography.com/