Honorable Mention Cold Water
Henley Spiers
Cebu City, Philippines
“Spider Crab Attack“
The Story: Swimming out over the sand at my favourite local dive site, I was given quite a fright as I passed close by a spider crab and it leapt out at me! I retreated but, intrigued and seeing the potential to capture both this behaviour and the motion of the ocean, I dialled in a slow shutter speed, rear-flash sync and approached the same individual. He repeated the behaviour as I got close, standing up on his hind legs, leaping up into the water column, and slashing with his large claws! Spider crabs aggregated in large numbers in the bay over the summer and I believe this feisty individual was displaying a combination of territorial and defensive behaviour. Image captured, I left him in peace, ready to surprise the next passing diver!
Location: Babbacombe Bay, Devon, U.K.
Equipment Used: Nikon D850, Nauticam Housing, Nikon 28-70mm Lens, Nauticam WACP, Inon Z240 strobes
Settings: F22, 1/8 sec, ISO 64
