Reptiles and Amphibians
Photography by
Richard A. Paselk
In the late 1960's my best friend, Chuck McClung, was working as the manager of an exotic animal "pet" store, the Hermosa Reptile and Wild Animal Farm, Inc. in Hermosa Beach CA. They carried a variety of animals, from a few invertebrates (e.g. giant millipedes from Central America, banana slugs from California, giant elephant beetles etc.), lots of reptiles and amphibians from around the world, and medium sized mammals (I remember Sun Bears and giant anteaters in particular).
Since rare, unknown to science and exotic reptiles and amphibians were frequent arrivals, Chuck and I decided it would be cool to start photographing them when possible. First I needed to get a good 35 mm SLR ( I bought a Minota SRT 101 and a #2 close-up lens) and then become a proficient photographer with both natural and artificial light. When I graduated from college with a BS in 1968 my folks bought me a bunch of Minolta accessories including: a 200 mm telephoto lens, extension bellows and an extension tube set for close-ups, a microscope adapter and some filters as my graduation gift.
Most of our photos were studio pictures with Chuck creating artistic and when possible authentic backgrounds and then handling and posing the animals (it was recommended at that time that animals be cooled in the refrigerator to ease handling, Chuck's skill as an animal handler made this unnecessary and made for better photos. However, I will admit to quite a few pictures of lizard tails and frog legs as a result!) The majority of the photos were taken starting November 1967 and going to 1971 after Chuck left Hermosa Reptile.
I have grouped many of our photos by types of animals on the pages linked below:
© R. Paselk 2013, Last modified 13 May 2024