Captivated By Life On Belait Seashores

By about 9.30am the morning had sprung to life with gorgeous weather that inspired me to go for a swim. It didn’t take me much deliberation to decide that the swimming pool was my immediate destination to check-in on Gowalla. Although I wasn’t pleased that the pool is closed for maintenance without notification, I was determined to enjoy a productive morning instead of a disappointing trip home.

Quick patrol. Reason as per @hpcbrunei recommendation, walk 30 mins after a meal :) @ Billionth Barrel gowal.la/c/4URdN—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 19, 2011

After a pit stop at Soi Heng coffee shop for my favourite fried Kway Teow I still refused to head home and spur of the moment decided I’m going to get some sun regardless. Other than the pesky sand-flies, the beach has never disappointed me and with my G11 in hand and a little bit of luck, I brought home some incredible moments.

Hundreds of tiny crabs running all over the beach front of Billionth Barrel Monument. #brunei—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 19, 2011

One of the many variety of FIDDLER CRABS that are popular on our beaches.

 [ Images above from May 2008 post: Beach Crabs They're No Hermits ]

I spotted not one but two washed up jellyfish carcass (the kind without tentacles) within a stone's throw and all this discovery occurred right at the Billionth Barrel Monument beach front. Bright spot is a reflection of the noon direct sunlight.

Incredible photo opportunity that would make National Geographic and Canon pretty proud. Can't wait to share the catch! #photography #macro—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 19, 2011

Around comes one crab, checks out the perimeter of the jellyfish to make sure it's safe to mount.

Typically, it's near impossible to photograph these hyper active creatures. The second you move a limb they disappear in a blink. The idea here is to stay perfectly still and let sand flies enjoy a blood feast while you have your equipment set to capture them once in view. I captured this with the PowerShot G11 with Neutral Density enabled to cut off the intense direct midday sun along with a -1 Exposure Compensation

Let's dig in—bon appétit! Though the entire crab isn't in focus in this photo, it's good enough to see that it's got small amount of jellyfish flesh on its smaller claw. I saw it feed several mouthfuls of "sushi" the entire time I kept still photographing this amazing piece.

Trying hard not to frighten the crab off with any abrupt movement, I slowly and carefully inched my thumb to activate slow sync flash and the camera metering turned the scene into what appears to be a night shot and resulted in some degree of vignetting.

[ Image below from December 2008 post: Horn-eyed crab foams at the mouth ]

Foaming process keep their gills moist and to balance the salt concentration within its body by excreting mucus to clear its airway. Another source thinks foaming at the mouth is a sign of stress.

Truly Nat-Geo Moments, esp Fiddler crab mounts beached jellyfish RT @janshim: Captivated By Life On Belait Seashores wp.me/p2aT2-3gX—
Anthony_Er (@anthony_er) September 19, 2011

A small step for @BeachBunch a giant leap for life on Belait seashores. Macro photography of crab eating jellyfish bit.ly/nXiJH4—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 19, 2011

Just posted: "Captivated By Life On Brunei Seashores – My Shot – National Geographic Magazine"( twitthis.com/8abs8l )—
JAN SHIM (@janshim) September 20, 2011