Territorial tidal crab

Gallery: WildlifePosted August 13, 2011248 views10 comments

Nikon D200 – Nikon 80-400 VR @400mm
f/5.6, 1/1250 handheld, ISO 200

These crabs - less than an inch legs included - are common in Qatar beaches. If there are many of them, they stretch every few seconds like this one. Someone on NP suggested it is a territorial behavior and must be true because they do not stretch when alone.

At low tide they come out to eat. They process sand very quickly, extract the nutrients, and roll the leftovers in little balls that they kick on the side but always leaving a clean ball-free straight path to run back to the hole if needed.

Today low tide was in the middle of the morning and it was 113F/45C. After two and a half hours with these little fellows I was baked to perfection :-)

C&C much appreciated. Thanks for watching.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on August 13, 2011 at 10:20 AM

Wonderful image of a crab! It's so not easy to get them in a great position like this. Really awesome detail, light and color.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Phillip Noll on August 13, 2011 at 12:40 PM

Cool shot of the crab! Something about the DOF seems weird though. Is the bottom a blur in post processing? Just doesn't seem natural to my eye. maybe if you darken the bottom 1/4 a little?

Registered on November 17, 2003, 207 Posts, 1083 Comments

Comment posted by Esme' Fantozzi on August 13, 2011 at 12:54 PM

Definitely no blur in post-processing. The dark line may not be nice, but it's perfectly natural and nothing else than another layer of crab balls, made by another crab, in between me and *my* crab. Unfortunately I had no too many choices for positioning, due to the shape of the beach and the sea :-)

Registered on July 27, 2006, 50 Posts, 300 Comments

Comment posted by Johan Malmros on August 13, 2011 at 3:47 PM

What a great pose you got there!
The low point of view and depth of field adds tons to this image as well

Maybe something can be done about the dark line in processing? Although natural, it still looks a bit strange. Make it fade into the bottom blurred part for example?

I hope you brought some water ...
/Johan

Registered on January 6, 2011, 20 Posts, 154 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on August 14, 2011 at 7:22 AM

Esme', I think this shot rocks! I love the attitude the crab is displaying. Techs look nice as well. If it were mine, I would consider cropping off most of the OOF FG. I would leave as much of the rest though, because that BG is wonderful and I like the use of the negative space on the left. Great job!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Vincent Grafhorst on August 14, 2011 at 1:53 PM

Awesome pose of a very colorful crab Esme. I quite like this as is, but for a more powerful presentation, particularly on the web, you may consider cropping this tighter. That will also eliminate the OOF FG and reduce the effect of the dark top (although I have not problem with that dark band on top at all). See attached the type of crop I had in mind.

Registered on February 24, 2006, 504 Posts, 7203 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on August 14, 2011 at 2:46 PM

Hey Esme',

I think this is really cool and I would concur with the thinking that we're likely looking at a ritualized territorial display. Love the colours on the crab! I have no problem at all with the darker band in the image - my only (and very simplistic) suggestion would simply to be crop some of the out-of-focus foreground out (maybe 10% off the frame) and - in doing so - ground the subject a little more. But that's definitely a personal preference thing...

Cheers...thanks for sharing this very unique and eye-catching shot...

Brad

PS: I entered this comment before seeing Vincent's crop - personally I wouldn't take quite as much off the bottom but...all personal preference!!

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Esme' Fantozzi on August 14, 2011 at 3:38 PM

Everyone,
Thank you so much for the comments!

It’s amazing how many details others see that I don't even notice, biased by the way the scene look rather than objectively looking at the picture I took of it. The dark line of OOF crab sand balls is the most blatant one in this instance.

After the first comments I reprocessed the picture altogether, and came with something quite close to the crop that Vincent suggests - it may still be a bit too tight for Brad. The colors are slightly different - and I can't say which one is closer to reality: I had sweat and sunscreen flowing no stop in my eyes - no way to wipe them without scaring the crabs away.

These little guys and I just met – I moved to Qatar a few months ago – and our love affair is here to stay. They are not in short supply. I hope to bring better shots in the future.

Thank you again,
Esme'

Registered on July 27, 2006, 50 Posts, 300 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on August 15, 2011 at 12:03 AM

Hey Esme',

Love it - works just fine for me!

Cheers...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on August 15, 2011 at 9:22 AM

Cool. Good job with the perspective! I like the color of the first version and the crop of the second! Thanks for sharing.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments