5 Day Black & White Photo Challenge – Okinawa

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)

Tomato Anemonefish (Amphiprion frenatus)

Ringed plate coral (Pachysersis speciosa)

Ringed plate coral (Pachysersis speciosa)

Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Razor coral with polyps out

Razor coral with polyps out

Leopard sea cucumber (Bohadschia argus)

Leopard sea cucumber (Bohadschia argus)

All images were photographed with the Canon 70d in an Ikelite underwater housing.

Have a great day!

Crabs With Beach Trash Homes – Okinawa, Japan

  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.
Hermit crabs with beach trash homes

Crabs with beach trash homes © Shawn Miller

 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.

 
Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) with a seashell © Shawn Miller

Before plastic caps filled our shorelines, hermit crabs adapted using tree nuts if no shells were available.

Hermit crab and tree nut

Hermit crab and tree nut © Shawn Miller

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 fighting

Hermit crabs fighting over prime real estate © Shawn Miller

The battle -

Battle over real estate © Shawn Miller

A close-up of the sensitive abdomen (photographed using the MYN technique)

Naked hermit crab

Naked hermit crab © Shawn Miller

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.

Pandus odifer

Pandanus odifer © Shawn Miller

Eventually the fruit drops to the ground and the sweet smell attracts the hermit crabs

Hermit crab feeding

Hermit crab feeding © Shawn Miller

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 crab and Pandanus

Hermit crab and Pandanus © Shawn Miller

Eventually the keys dry, turn brown and litter the local beaches. The dispersed keys provide a perfect environment for hermit crabs to blend in with.

Where the treeline meet the beach

Where the treeline meet the beach © Shawn Miller

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.

Hermit crab and screw pine seed

Hermit crab and screw pine seed © Shawn Miller

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Hermit crabs have the ability to ball up tight to protect their eyes. (Transformers)

Hermit crab retracted

Hermit crab retracted © Shawn Miller

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).

 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) with cap © Shawn Miller

 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) in plastic tube © Shawn Miller

 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) in plastic top cap © Shawn Miller

 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) in plastic © Shawn Miller

 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus) in plastic cap © Shawn Miller

 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus) in plastic top cap © Shawn Miller

Blueberry hermit crab- Ryukyu Islands.

Blueberry hermit crab- Ryukyu Islands © Shawn Miller

Blueberry hermit crab

Blueberry hermit crab – Okuma, Okinawa © Shawn Miller

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.

Meet zori -Wide angle macro

Meet zori -Wide angle macro © Shawn Miller

Hermit crab- Plastic pollution

Hermit crab- Plastic pollution © Shawn Miller

Blueberry hermit crab, Hedo-Okinawa

Blueberry hermit crab,  Wide angle macro © Shawn Miller

Meet scoop- Quaker

Meet scoop- Quaker © Shawn Miller

Meet shady

Meet shady – Worldwide trash problem

Hermit crab in a glass bottle

Hermit crab in a glass bottle- Yomitan, Okinawa.

Meet cassette -CWBTH

Meet cassette -CWBTH © Shawn Miller

Airplane -Senaga Island ,Okinawa

Airplane -Senaga Island ,Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Blueberry hermit crab, Onna-Okinawa

Land hermit crab, Onna-Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Meet sparky- using a plastic cap from a cassette gas tank

Meet sparky- using a plastic cap from a cassette gas tank © Shawn Miller

Energy drink home- Trash homes

Energy drink home- Trash homes © Shawn Miller

The rock climber -Okinawa

The rock climber -Northern Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Sunset - Yomitan ,Okinawa

Sunset Time – Yomitan ,Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Beach pollution- CWBTH

Beach pollution- CWBTH © Shawn Miller

Tree climber-

Tree climber- © Shawn Miller

Plastic pollution - beach trash

Plastic pollution – beach trash © Shawn Miller

Crabs and plastic

Crabs and plastic – WAM © Shawn Miller

Got Meds -Beach trash

Got Meds -Beach trash © Shawn Miller

Get off the road jack -

Get off the road jack – © Shawn Miller

Crabs and plastic -Onna Village

Crabs and plastic -Onna Village © Shawn Miller

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.

Meet Edison- Gobe700

Meet Edison- Gobe700 © Shawn Miller

Meet hand -toy end cap

Meet hand -toy end cap © Shawn Miller

Beach trash -hermit crabs

Beach trash -hermit crabs © Shawn Miller

erry hermit crab, Okuma-Okinawa

Blueberry hermit crab, Okuma-Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Laundry detergent cap - Northern Okinawa

Laundry detergent cap – Northern Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Cassette gas tank cap - bbq beach party

Cassette gas tank cap – bbq beach party © Shawn Miller

White cap on drift wood

White cap on drift wood © Shawn Miller

Meet scoop-

Meet scoop- © Shawn Miller

Blueberry hermit crab, Hedo-Okinawa

Blueberry hermit crab, Hedo-Okinawa © Shawn Miller

Meet Edison -Gobe700

Meet Edison -Gobe700 © Shawn Miller

Blueberry hermit crab, Onna-Okinawa

Blueberry hermit crab, Onna-Okinawa © Shawn Miller

erry hermit crab, Hedo-Okinawa

Blueberry hermit crab, Hedo-Okinawa © Shawn Miller

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.

Kirana's school project

Kirana’s school project © Shawn Miller

Kyle's school project

Kyle’s school project © Shawn Miller

Otis Brunner found this hermit crab flattened on a beachside parking lot. As you can see the plastic doesn’t provide much protection.

IMG_3816

Road kill – © Otis Brunner

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

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.  
 Blueberry hermit crabs (Coenobita purpureus)

Land hermit crab  climbing a tree © Shawn Miller

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.

Planet or Plastic June 2018 featured

Planet or Plastic June 2018 featured

Learn more about making a difference, TEDx talk | Adapting to or Changing Environment by Shawn M Miller

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.

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens – Birds Of Okinawa

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)

Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

A beautiful Ryukyu hawk owl spotted during daylight.

The Ryukyu hawk owl

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 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.

Pryer's woodpecker  (Sapheopipo Noguchii)  Yanbaru forest

Pryer’s woodpecker (Sapheopipo Noguchii) Yanbaru forest

A Wiskered tern (Childonias hybridus) shaking away – Kin, Okinawa.

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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.

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Japanese wood pigeon

The Rudy kingfisher is a summer visitor. Another bird hard to photograph

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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, Okinawa

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

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)

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 )

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

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.

Canon 70d with 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

Canon 70d with 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens

Have a great day!

 

Marine Life Washed Ashore – Typhoon Vongfong

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.

Puffer fish and trash

A Common Pufferfish ( Diodon holocanthus) with beach trash © Shawn Miller

Blue starfish ,Onna beach-Okinawa

Blue starfish (Linckia laevigata) washed ashore © Shawn Miller

fish washed up with styrofoam

Carinalfish washed ashore with styrofoam in its mouth © Shawn Miller

Sea snake , Okinawa-Japan

Venomous Sea snake  (Emydocephalus ijimae) © Shawn Miller

Starfish washed up

Horned sea star ( Protoreaster nodusus ) washed ashore © Shawn Miller

sea hare

Large sea slug (Dolabella auricularia ) with internal shell © Shawn Miller

Sea cucumber

Sea cucumber ( Holothuria scabra ) washed ashore © Shawn Miller

Soft coral -Nago ,Bay

Soft coral  ( Lobophytum sp ) washed ashore © Shawn Miller

All images were taken on the western portion of the Island using the Canon 70d.

Have a great day!

 

Using the Light & Motion Sola red light feature to document the marine life of Okinawa

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 - Documenting the Marine Life of Okinawa

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 )

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 )

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

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

Learn more about the Light & Motion Sola series.   https://www.lightandmotion.com/choose-your-light/sola

Learn more about the Meet Your Neighbours Project.   https://meetyourneighbours.net/okinawa-neighbours/

Have a great day-