chrisrodriguesscuba

Do you like my sunroof?

On arrival at our resort in Baa Atoll, Maldives, I stepped onto the beach and was greeted by the "Chief Guest Officer", Mr. Hermit who gladly posed fo...
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On arrival at our resort in Baa Atoll, Maldives, I stepped onto the beach and was greeted by the "Chief Guest Officer", Mr. Hermit who gladly posed for this macro portrait.
Read less

OLYMPUS TG-1

settings

Aperture 56/10 ISO 100 Shutter 1/400 Focal Length 1347/100

upload_date

Oct, 2016

Views

218

Likes

+54

Awards

Member Selection Award

People's Choice in Crabs!! Photo Challenge

Peer Award

Top Choice

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Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

All Star

Superb Composition

Superior Skill

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Behind The Lens

Location

On arrival at the island of Landaa Giraavaru in Baa Atoll, Maldives, we decided to explore the white sandy beach. I found a group of hermit crabs having an intense meeting which seemed very amusing. After some time, this one crab started to walk towards us and presented itself as the 'Chief Guest Officer'.

Time

This was taken in the late afternoon when the sun was blazing and reflecting off the white coral and sandy beach. The sight of the turquoise waters was so calming and fulfilling.

Lighting

I needed the right angle to get the macro shot because of the shadows created at this time. So just slept on the sand (and it was pretty hot) and hoped that the hermit crab would walk in the path against the sun so I could get the light reflected off it's shell.

Equipment

I'm a simple photographer who has been loyal to my Olympus TG1 whose USP is macro & underwater capability. While I appreciate that DSLRs and Mirrorless have advanced image quality and features, the TG1 is a great compact camera despite it's small sensor size. So to keep things simple, it was just my camera and me and no other accessories.

Inspiration

I'm an advocate of macro photography as it brings out the beauty of things that our naked eyes rarely capture and appreciate. I have been taking hermit crab images for several years and wasn't satisfied with the images mainly because the macro shot wasn't clear as these critters are very skittish. With the new camera I wanted to test it's macro capability on land before I went diving with the Manta Rays so this was a spur of moment idea whilst walking on the beach. In summary, I always had this shot in mind, but did it at the last moment when I saw the hermit crab.

Editing

As the images are taken in JPEG format, there is limited post processing scope. All I did was to adjust sharpness and shadows. Sometimes, the best shots are taken with ones camera and not as a result of the software.

In my camera bag

It's always been my loyal Olympus TG1 due to it's diverse capability both on land and water. I do however, use my wife's Nikon CoolPix P900 if needed (as she's very possesive of it) for the bird shots mainly.

Feedback

I think I got the shot I wanted after about 10 years of shooting hermit crabs on beaches all over the world. While some of the shots are more colourful, none have been able to capture the facial or emotional expression in the manner this image has. This was challenging because the colours of the crab were almost blending with the sand and broken shells. There is no rocket science to the way this image has been taken but as long as you love nature, it will present the best opportunities to capture it's beauty in your frame.

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Do you like my sunroof?