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Needles & Coquina WC#579
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Needles & Coquina WC#579

by Paul Rebmann

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted April 7, 201387 views5 comments
Macro photo along the wrack line of a Florida Atlantic Beach. The tiny 'needles' are straight needle pteropod (Creseis acicula) shells which washed up in great numbers after several hurricanes passed by out in the ocean. The 'large' shell is a coquina, and the 'rocks' are grains of coquina sand. The pteropods are also called sea slugs or sea butterflies.

Canon 300D (Digital Rebel), 100mm 2.8 macro lens, ISO 100, f/11 @ 1/60 sec, tripod mounted

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on April 7, 2013 at 9:28 PM
Wow, great shot, Paul! You found a wonderful comp with the size and shape of the shell on the right contrasting nicely with, and balancing out, the smaller sizes and straight shape of the needle-like shells. The colored large grains of sand make a great background for the less colorful shells. Good lighting and nice details throughout. Very nice! :smile:
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 8, 2013 at 9:58 AM
Lovely details and great lighting! Those tiny "needles" are a special addition. Very well seen. This is fine as presented, but I do wonder how it would "feel" with a bit more space to the right of the coquina. If you use Photoshop (CS5 or 6), you might try adding a bit of canvas on the right and then using content aware fill.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on April 9, 2013 at 1:08 AM
I like the angular shells, colors and soft curves of the big one. Lovely image.
Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 9, 2013 at 8:20 AM
Excellent comp and note on what I'm looking at Paul, very nice! :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by RL Potts on April 10, 2013 at 12:16 AM
This is a beautiful "Jewels of the Sea" image. I love the color, warmth, sparkle, and contrast.
Registered on November 24, 2003, 188 Posts, 985 Comments