Wildlife photos return today, but I have precious few batches in the tank. If you got ’em, please send ’em, lest this feature disappear.
Today UC Davis mathematician Abby Thompson, who survived cancelation, is back with pictures of California tide pools. Abby’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
November-December tidepools (Northern California). The weather at the coast over the Thanksgiving weekend was spectacular- sunny, warm, with no wind; perfect for poking around in the tide pools. As usual I got help with some of the IDs from people on inaturalist.
Mussel-covered rock (probably Mytilus californianus); I liked the pattern made on the sand as the tide retreated:
Calliostoma ligatum (blue-ringed top snail):
Eupentacta quinquesemita (stiff-footed sea cucumber) Probably; it’s a little hard to tell with sea cucumbers. This one was a couple of inches long.
Hemigrapsus nudus (Purple shore crab). This is one of the most common crabs on this stretch of shore. This one was small (maybe 2” across the back) but testy, apparently ready to take me on:
Dendronotus subramosus (nudibranch). Nudibranchs are often scarce at this time of year, but the calm sea seems to have brought them out:
Phidiana hiltoni (nudibranch) Posing for the camera:
Anthopleura artemisia (moonglow anemone). I’ve posted a few pictures of this species. The color varies so much that they all look quite different. I’ve never seen one that’s blue before; it was striking next to the brilliant orange sponge:
Hermissenda opalescens: (nudibranch):
Cervus canadensis nannodes (Tule elk) from tiny creatures to large (although this species is small for elk). This picture is from Point Reyes National Seashore, where there’s a reserve. A short, highly recommended hike takes you to where the elk can be found wandering about:
Tomales Point at sunset, as the tide was beginning to turn:
Camera info: Mostly Olympus TG-7, in microscope mode, pictures taken from above the water. The last two pictures were taken with my iphone.
Love this recurring theme – something about wandering the tide pools and seeing what comes up – lucky to have such cool creatures in those pools!
I bought a Olympus system tg 7 after I saw your last batch of tide-pool photographs. I don’t know if I will ever do underwater but I have always loved macro photography. Have not figured out focus stacking, bracketing, but have not really worked at it yet. I bought a users guide pamphlet on Amazon thinking it would help clear up some points. It was amazing how worthless it was.
The nudibranches are beautiful.
That can be a nice camera! I see from its specs that it does not do automatic focus bracketing which is needed for focus stacking. But it does allow manual focus so I think you can do manual focus stacking with it. My fancy camera does ‘everything’, but even so I usually just focus bracket manually just to avoid fussing with various settings. Focus bracketing can be done either by moving the camera each time you take a picture, or by manually advancing the focus. Whichever seems easiest, although advancing the focus while keeping the camera in place is more accurate. Be careful to keep the optical reticle on the same spot each time to minimize changes in perspective. Then see about aligning and stacking the pictures with software like Photoshop or Zerene Stacker. There are also some free stacking programs out there.
Thank you!
I just realized from what you (Mark) wrote I might need a rail focusing system to manually focus. I was wondering why I was seeing ads for these.
A focus rail can help, and it can be a hinderance. If I had this camera, I would start with trying to do it by hand, on the kitchen table, with some random small object. There are various techniques, like resting the camera on the back of your hand.
A rail can get in the way if you are trying to focus stack in the field. If the camera has Image Stabilization (I did not check), that can be a big help.
Short simple stacks don’t need to align perfectly. The stacking software takes care of that. Artifacts from parallax shifts and other artifacts can arise, but those are cleaned up with cloning and healing brushes.
Also if you can control the lens aperture, shoot at a wide aperture for shallow depth of focus. Lenses are sharper that way.
Tide pools are amazing—and so are your pictures!
Beautiful photos, thanks for the links. This post was a joy to open. In this camera/photo savvy company, it’s also remarkable what can be gotten with a phone camera these days.
Very nice photos. Thanks.
Thanks for these lovely photos Abby! We are starting to get our snow now, so these are wonderful to look at.
Nice pictures! I have actually been to Point Reyes. Highly recommended. I have even stepped over the San Andreas fault (easy at Point Reyes).
I truly enjoyed these photos! Thanks!
thank you, they are lovely
Love the nudibranchs.
Thanks for the kind words everyone!
Jerry,
As for contradictions on your site, I have yet to find any, and as for affirmations, you hardly need any from me. Nonetheless giving credence to god by using a capital G means no more than a capital A for Apple.. I’m not an English major so I might be corrected on this.
As for the Wildlife photos, I wouldn’t mind some reruns as I have always enjoyed them.it might fill in some gaps.