Clement Faria - Barbados Website Multimedia Developer

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By Clement Faria   Published: March 31, 2013  

I recently got a Vintage Auto Sears 200mm f3.5 lens and wanted to test it out with a 2x teleconverter and see what this old tank can do. I ended up venturing to one of my favorite beaches in Barbados, Batts Rock to do some beach combing for washed up shells. 

The sun was high in the sky, not midday, but was still behind the trees on the beach, which provided lots of shade for a while. I set up my tripod and camera and relaxed for a while, enjoyed the scenery before me and just took it all in.

The sun was begining to get high and I saw a guy on a jet ski doing a quick repair on the water. Here is a shot I took with the Sears 200mm and the 2xTeleconverter. I was actually expecting a bad shot at first, but this surprised me. Maybe after some testing and tweeking I can get some better quality shots with this setup.

 
In the mean time I was watching some Kingfisher Birds ( I think that's the name) on some emerged rocks. The stand up on the rocks in numbers feeding on anything they like on the surface. If you get too close they fly away to another area on the beach. This photo was taken with the Sears 200mm and Teleconverter with some post processing in Photoshop.


 

It was currently low tide and alot of Rocks that were usually under water, were now emerged. This exposed creatures and vegetation for alot of photographic opportunities, despite the high sun.



While venturing on the rocks a little, I noticed a interesting looking crab on a rock that was covered in a carpet like grass. At this point I was pumped, finally something that really caught my eye. This scene had National Geographic written all over it. I change my camera lense to my 55-250mm and made sure the front glass was clean and spotless. A CPL Polariser was attached and I placed some extension tubes in my pocket in case i needed to get close up.

After some research online, I found out that this crab was called a Lumpy Claw Crab, Eriphia squamata. The rock was covered with grass/moss, while the occasional wave was splashing and sending water over it. To me it looked like a large grass plain and the crab was a farmer, but you decide. This provided an excellent background with the sun making the grass and water sparkle.



Here is a closer view of this beautifull crab just before being splashed from a wave.

 
And even closer. Here the crab is partially submerged as the water from a wave drains off the rock.


 
Up to today I knew nothing about this lovely creature, never even noticed it. I just had to appreciate the intricate details and colours that I saw on this crab, especially the lumps on the claw.

 
It was time for me to leave the beach was and I was completely satisfied with the photos that I got so far. What started out as simple beach combing for shells, resulted in some lovely photos and learning some geography as well. 

While I was leaving, I observed a dead fish who couldnt make it back out to sea with the tide. 



Some paddle boarders were enjoying themselves and the wonderfull sea conditions. The water was low, clear and the sun was out. You couldn't ask for a better day to be at the beach. 

 
I hope you enjoyed this photoblog and the photos in this article. Make sure to visit Batts Rock Beach in Barbados if you are on the island, it really is a wonderfull place to be, with lots of things to do and see. 



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