Snake Handler: Anthony by Mount Photography

'They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.'

Mark 16:18

It was back in 2009 when I first discovered and featured the work of photographer Mark Montovio from Mount Photography.  Since then, I've been fortunate to have featured Mark's work over 20 times.  You can check all of the previous pieces on FH HERE:.  I love how Mark views and captures and the male form.  There's a unique elegance and flow in Mark's work that always stands out for me.

I first featured images from this series back in 2013. (HERE:) This was one of my favorite shoots of Mark's to feature, and is also one of Mark's favorites as well. You can certainly see and feel that flow in this series with Anthony, and with Mowgli, the beautiful Albino Burmese Python he's posing with.  Anthony had little experience with snakes, especially one slithering over and around his naked body. Despite that, both human and reptile look really natural posing together.

Although Anthony did enjoy his posing partner, given their reputation, he did have some questions. Python's have sharp rearward-pointing teeth which they use seize prey.  They then coil their body around what they've captured, squeezing a little tighter with each exhale until their prey suffocates.  Mark assured Anthony although he may get a little squeeze, all of Anthony's anatomy was safe from harm.

'Anthony was fascinated when the python stuck out its tongue - you can see in some of the pics I think - and I had to assure him that the snake was just checking him out and not getting ready for a snack. Of course the Python got a chance to check out every bit of Anthony as snakes love to do!'

Mark Montovio

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