Molluscs

tags: molluscs, Spondylus Imperialis Oyster, travel, Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day, photography Spondylus Imperialis Oyster? Photographed in the Luonnontieteellinen keskusmuseo, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Image: GrrlScientist, 18 May 2010 [larger view] Canon SX100 IS.

Nudibranchs -- marine snails without shells -- make wonderful photo subjects for the macro photographer. They are small, colorful, and they move slowly (as snails are wont to do). That last characteristic is particularly welcome. Most fishes are in motion almost constantly, and non-sessile invertebrates tend to scurry hither and thither. It's nice to find a subject that is not only photogenic, but doesn't turn tail or flat out disappear before the photographer can focus the camera's lens! It's always interesting to find out and record which critters feed on what. Here are some macro…

Even the clearest water has at least some particles suspended in it -- sand, silt, plankton, who knows what -- and most of the time, in most places, the water isn't really all that clear. In fact, during a plankton bloom or after a storm that has caused a lot of runoff, you might just as well leave your camera on the boat. Light from a camera strobe has a nasty habit of bouncing back from any particulate matter that it encounters between the camera lens and the subject. The result is the bane of underwater photography: backscatter. Your images will look as though they were taken in a…