In order to create this photograph, I light painted the statue with a flashlight and one constant video light near the front of the serpent’s head. Summer nights in the desert means the possibility of encountering rattlesnakes and I’m hyper-aware of this fact whenever I’m out here shooting. Before I walk an area I always use a light to check it first for snakes. On this night I had already been light painting this sculpture for several hours when my friend asked if I could check her camera settings. I could see the light from her camera so I just walked toward it without safely using my light to check the path. Suddenly I heard a loud rattle at my feet and I stumbled backward as quickly as I could to keep away from what was below me. Turns out it was a baby sidewinder. The point is, NEVER let your guard down out here. Ever.

The Serpent Statue in Borrego Springs is one of the most iconic and intriguing sculptures in California's Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This massive, serpentine sculpture, also known as the Borrego Springs Serpent, was created by renowned artist Ricardo Breceda as part of his larger outdoor installation, Galleta Meadows Sculptures. The serpent statue is a striking and lifelike portrayal of a giant rattlesnake coiled and slithering through the desert landscape. Stretching over 350 feet in length, it is one of the largest sculptures in the world, drawing visitors from all over the globe to see its remarkable design and scale.