I was nominated by Martin Bailey to participate in the 5 Day Black & White Challenge. I had to post one black & white Image each day while challenging another photographer to do the same. It was difficult to find subjects that really popped out in B&W. Below are the five images I posted during this challenge. All images were taken underwater on Scuba in the beautiful waters of Okinawa.
Tomato Anemonefish (Amphiprion frenatus)
Ringed plate coral (Pachysersis speciosa)
Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Razor coral with polyps out
Leopard sea cucumber (Bohadschia argus)
All images were photographed with the Canon 70d in an Ikelite underwater housing.
Crabs with beach trash homes is a series I am currently working on. I photograph Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus) that have begun to use beach trash as their home. The crabs are photographed in their natural environment and also on white for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project. The images are used for environmental awareness and educational purposes.
Blueberry hermit crabs are commonly found on local beaches in Okinawa. Most crabs are blue but occasionally have color variations of purple, pink, orange and or gray. They prefer to have a seashell as a protective home but when no shell is available they adapt.
It’s becoming more common to find crabs with beach trash homes. I have friends combing local beaches in search of more crabs for my series. While these are cute images, our trash is becoming a serious problem to the ocean and the animals that call the shoreline home. I often find hermit crabs using a variety of plastic caps from twist top pet bottles, laundry detergent containers, small propane tanks, sports water bottles and beauty supplies.
Possible reason why Blueberry crabs adapt with beach trash
Limited number of available shells causing them to make due with the best homes they can find. This is a good example of adaptive behavior.
Hermit crabs are very social animals and often fight over shells. Having a protective lightweight shell that covers the abdomen (soft parts of the animal) is crucial for survival.
Hermit crabs are scavengers and take advantage of any food washed ashore. They mainly feed on dead fish, barnacles, other crabs, algae, insects, plants, fruit and various seeds. The screw pine (Pandanus odifer) is one of their favorite foods. I imagine long ago these vital plants lined our shorelines in abundance. Numbers are decreasing due to deforestation.
The hermit crabs feed on the the fresh keys and help with seed dispersal. They both benefit in this relationship. The Pandanus tree provides shelter, shade, food for the hermit crabs.
Hermit crabs prefer to be in a shell that protects the entire body from predators. Sometimes they have to temporarily adapt with a much smaller shell. The retracted hermit crab tightens up to protect itself. Ball up, play dead and blend into the environment, minimizing the risk of being preyed upon.
Could this be a form of masquerading or just coincidence ? It resembles (mimics) the shape of the screw pine seed to possibly avoid detection from potential predators.
Below are some of my favorite images photographed on a portable field studio board (MYN Technique). The crabs are safely placed on a white studio board, photographed and released back into the natural environment (MYN Technique).
It’s important to photograph the hermit crabs in their natural habitat. I prefer to photograph them using a wide angle lens to achieve a unique perspective.
I also photograph the hermit crabs using a dedicated macro lens. I mainly use the Canon 60 mm or 100 mm macro lens to concentrate on the subject. These crabs are fairly small and it’s important to have a lens that will focus close and deliver high quality sharpness.
School project ” Crabs with beach trash homes ” My family and I collected trash on a local beach in Onna village. This is just a small portion of our beach trash findings. The kids did a great job creating a project with impact.
Behind the scenes photograph ” Crabs with beach trash homes ” I have documented over sixty crabs with beach trash homes. If you would like to see more images check out my Flickr account.
Shawn Miller – Crabs with beach trash homes. Photographed by David Orr
June 10th, 2010 was my first experience seeing a hermit crab with a trash home.
My series ” Crabs with beach trash homes ” has been featured on World Wildlife Fund, Petapixel, Business Insider, National Geographic, Atlas Obscura, Global citizen, Plethorist, Daily Telegraph, Little things, 15minutenews, Roaring earth, Hyperdojo, News.com.au, Follow news, Neotorama, BoingBoing, Insider, Activist, Now100fm and varies Scientific websites.
My Mission: To Protect and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands for Future Generations. – If you would like to join my journey, check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MakeTheSwitch4Nature
Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.
The Canon Ef 400mm f/5.6 USM lens is a light weight high performance prime lens. The auto focus system is impressively fast without hesitation. It performs best when photographing birds in flight and animals on the move. This is a very sharp high quality lens and would recommend purchasing it if you are on a limited budget.
The Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is one of my favorite birds to photograph with the the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens.
Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
A beautiful Ryukyu hawk owl spotted during daylight.
The Ryukyu hawk owl (Ninox scutulata)
The Black Faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) is a common visitor in Southern Okinawa.
The Spoonbill is critically endangered and has an estimated population of less than 3000.
The Black Faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor).
The Pryer’s woodpecker (Sapheopipo Noguchii) is the prefecture bird of Okinawa and designated as a natural treasure of Japan. It is a rare species only found in the northern part of Okinawa.
A Wiskered tern (Childonias hybridus) shaking away – Kin, Okinawa.
Wiskered tern (Childonias hybridus)
The Japanese wood pigeon is listed as near threatened on the IUCN red list of threatened species. A very difficult bird to photograph.
Japanese wood pigeon
The Rudy kingfisher is a summer visitor. Another bird hard to photograph
Rudy kingfisher (Halcyon coromanda)
The Japanese white eye (Zosterops japonicus) is popular to photograph in January. The green and yellow feathers compliment the pink cherry tree blossoms.
Mejiro – Japanese white eye
The Okinawa rail (Gallirallus okinawae) is a flightless bird only found in the northern part of Okinawa. It is a protected species and declared a living natural monument. It is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species. In 2012 populations of this endemic bird were estimated at 1500 by the Environment Ministry.
Okinawa Rail ( Gallirallus okinawae)
The Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a rare visitor in Okinawa. Nature Photographers travel from Mainland Japan to photograph this beautiful bird.
Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
The male Japanese sparrowhawk ( Accipiter gularis ) has stunning bright red eyes. This bird can pluck the feathers off a sparrow within minutes.
Male Japanese sparrowhawk ( Accipiter gularis )
The Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) dive bombing a fish. This bird is a spectacular hunter.
Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) dive bombing a fish
Check out more Images of Birds of Okinawa-
All Images were photographed using the Canon 70d with the Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens.
Super Typhoon Vongfong was considered to be to be the strongest storm of the year. We were very lucky the strength of the storm died down before it landed on the Island of Okinawa. The typhoon brought heavy winds and rough sea conditions. A fair amount of marine life could not cope with these harsh conditions.
I have been using the Light & Motion Sola series underwater lights for over two years now. They are the most reliable lights I have ever used underwater. The Sola photo series 800 and 1200 offer a red light feature. This feature enables the user to photograph the marine life without disturbing them. Most marine animals do not see or react to the red light.
I decided to put the Sola red light to the test on some marine subjects. I first setup a small studio saltwater aquarium to place the specimens in.
Aquarium setup – Meet Your Neighbours Project
I wanted to photograph some marine gastropods with their shell and body showing. I first tried using white light, but they immediately retreated back into their shell. As soon as I turned on the red light the marine snails crawled around as if it was nighttime. This red light feature allowed me to get the documentation photograph that I planned.
Cowrie shells are one of many beautiful marine animals found in Okinawa. Photographing the animals on white isolate the subject without any distractions.
Chinese cowrie ( Ovatipsa chinensis )
The animals are handled with care and then released back into the the environment without harm. The Images are used for conversation awareness and educational purposes.
Teres cowrie shell ( Blasicrura teres pellucens )
I usually use the Sola Red light underwater. This is my underwater rig with the Light & Motion Sola 600 mounted on top of my Ikelite underwater housing.
Underwater setup with sola 600
If you would like to test the Sola Photo 1200, please let me know. Friends and supporters – Save 20% off your first Light & Motion purchase https://prz.io/648x6bGC1
