11 May 21st Annual Photo Contest Judges
The St. Augustine Alligator Farm is pleased to announce this year’s photo contest judge selection. Though recent judges have been a single judge with a nature photography background, 2014 will be a team effort by renowned herpetologists Dick and Patti Bartlett! All photos below by R.D. Bartlett.
Blunt-headed tree snake Imantodes cenchoa
Richard D. (Dick) Bartlett grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts and spent his free time outdoors looking for reptiles, amphibians and birds. Getting around was easy; he used the public bus system and he had a bike. He began his field trips when he was 10, and by the time he was in high school, trips “out west” were an annual pilgrimage. Adding photography to his interests seemed like a logical progression. Dick began writing full time after retiring and would rather be outside than inside. Basically a herpetologist since birth, Dick has now authored more than 500 articles and authored or coauthored 65 books on reptile and amphibian field guides and captive care. The majority of the photographs within these articles and books were taken by Dick himself. In 1970 he began the Reptilian Breeding and Research Institute (RBRI). Since its inception, more than 200 reptile and amphibian species were bred at this private facility, some for the first time in the United States under captive conditions.
Eastern Two-lined Forest Pit Viper Bothriopsis b. bilineata
Patricia Bartlett was born in Georgia, but grew up in New Mexico. She lived across the street from open mesas, and spent her formative years chasing and bringing home lizards and insects. After graduation, she worked in publishing and as a museum administrator in both history and science museums. Patti has photographed reptiles and amphibians in southern US and Peru, and now spends a lot of her time in northern Florida photographing small things, like insects and seed pods.
Ashy gecko Sphaerodactylus elegans elegans