Title: Crab on a journey Location: Hat Noppharat Thara, Krabi Country: Thailand Subject notes: Krabi is a beautiful location in the southern peninsula of Thailand, where the ocean is warm and the people are friendly. Even the stray dogs are happy and in good shape, having plenty of food to eat, and all known by name by the local vet. Watching the dogs to see what they were eating, it seemed that crab made up a good part of their diet. There were two types of crabs on this beach, tiny ones that ventured out of their holes to make sand balls while sifting for food. Once a ball was made, it would be abandoned, and another made next to it, forming long lines of little balls radiating from the hole. When a dog would come near, the crabs run quickly along the lines of balls to their hole and disappear. The larger crabs, such as this one, tended to dig straight down into the sand and lay flat hoping not to be noticed. Perhaps for this reason, they tended to stay in areas where the sand was softer and wetter. However, they still seemed to be a favorite food of the dogs. Perhaps that is why this crab looks to be on a journey... away from all the dogs! Photography notes: At lowtide, I waited Camera brand OLYMPUS OPTICAL CO.,LTD Camera model E-10 Exposure time 1/160 sec F-stop 3.2 ISO 80 Metering mode Spot Focal Length 36.0 mm on my elbows and knees in the wet sand near a mostly buried crab for a long while until it became comfortable and came out of the sand. I took the spot light reading on the bright side of the crab and repositioned the camera to put the crab in the lower left of the photo, purposely putting the rest of the photo out of focus. The layer of water on top of the sand made for a wonderful shine and reflection of the sky in the fading sun. The yellow of the sunlight highlights the crab, while the cool blue of the reflected sky highlights the water on the sand, blending together nicely on the dark side of the crab. Unfortunately, my habitual viewing of the back of the camera to make sure the exposure was alright scared the crab back down into the sand. Trip: South East Asia

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