Playing at the beach

[Desi]

Went to the beach near San Simeon, Ca in search of Elephant Seals. I didn't find any....bummer....but found these little guys to play with.

Anyone know what these are?

The barnacle ball was actually hollow, as it had grown around a bulb of kelp.

C&C welcome

Desi


Playing at the beach by Desi595, on Flickr

 

[cbarnard7]

In Florida we called them, "Sand Fleas" but it looks like the call them, "Beach Hoppers" in California. They're little crustaceans that a lot of people use as bait. You got a cool shot because they normally burrow into the sand and you have to dig them out:

http://coastalcare.org/wp-content/images/learn/flora-and-fauna/california-beach-hopper.jpg

Not sure why yours are red...maybe they have a sun-tan (or they're molting).

 

[Desi]

Thanks....I had never seen one of these or heard of sand hoppers before. I thought they were a type of sand crab.

Not sure why they are red, but these are just their shells.

More info for anyone interested: iNaturalist.org · California Beach Flea (Megalorchestia californiana)

 

[cgipson1]

Nice shot, Desi! Crustacean King of the Mountain... lol!!

 

[sleist]

Love it!

 

[NancyMoranG]

These are tiny creatures, HOW did you get such a close, crisp shot?
great capture!
Nancy

 

[paigew]

Love! Those little guys have some personality!

 

[ronlane]

cool photo, nicely done.

 

[goodguy]

Absolutely love this shot!!!

Can you please tell us what camera and lens you used for this shot ?

 

[Desi]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm so glad you are liking this shot. I often do silly, playful shots with my kid's safari animal toys, so I couldn't resist when I found these guys at the beach. There was wonderfully dark and large granular sand for the background.....different from the sand in Los Angeles.

Goodguy: I used a D800, ISO 200. I had a 70-200 mm lens with a 2x teleconverter, shot at 400mm, f8, 1/500.

Nancy: I don't have a macro set-up (got stolen), but I've been using this set-up for pseudomacros...........I just get up as close at possible, right on the edge of the minimum focus for my lens, which gives a macro-like thin DOF, then play with aperture for fine tuning.

 

[Derrel]

Cool. A light wire size #2 Eagle Claw baitholder sliced shank, down-turned eye fishing hook and a small 3/4 ounce sliding egg sinker ring....yeah baby, those little dudes oughtta' be great bait for surf perch!!!

 

[goodguy]

Goodguy: I used a D800, ISO 200. I had a 70-200 mm lens with a 2x teleconverter, shot at 400mm, f8, 1/500.

Amazing camera with amazing lens and most of all what's between your ears to make it all work

 

[annamaria]

Love the shot!! Nicely done.

 

[D-B-J]

Look like amphipods to me. They are a small crustacean, related to lobsters, crabs, etc. Commonly called sand fleas. From the class "malocostraca"

OH! And nice photo!

Regards,
Jake