Mid-day lighting is usually something to avoid when shooting nature and many other subjects. However, in art there are always exceptions. For example, I photographed this sidewinder snake in the Namib Desert on my recent photo tour to Namibia, and what is interesting about this picture is that the slope of the dune was such that the sand and sanke were being side lit by the sun. Had the snake been on a flat section of the dune facing the sky, the light would have been flat and dimensionless as well as harsh. But since the side of the dune was sloped to receive side lighting, the picture worked beautifully. This was taken at about 3pm.