Journal

Nikoi Island’s Micro World Day 2

on
16 June 2013

Nikoi Island [ Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 ]

We had a very short snooze after a whole day of shooting, but I found myself up again at 2am and 3am to check out the stars. Quite unfortunately, the stars were visible at 2am, but the clouds came rolling in by the time I had my camera set up. Was hoping to do some star trails and get pictures of the milky way! Our next consolation came when we trotted out again before 6am to see if we could get a glimpse of the rising sun.

Behind the scenes photos courtesy of James and my Galaxy S4. 🙂

    Predawn - DSC_6762
  1. Predawn

    Predawn, the first hints of sunrise at the eastern mangroves

  2. Predawn - DSC_6789
  3. Predawn

    There were many mangrove trees and rock formations that make ideal subjects for a sunrise shot

  4. Predawn - DSC_6795
  5. Predawn

    I just kept myself busy taking 1 or 2 shots and walking around to shoot from various angles. I didn’t have any filters so these are just basic snap shots.

  6. Predawn - DSC_6814
  7. Predawn

    At low tide, the mangroves allowed me to walk really far away from land!

  8. Looking back at Nikoi Island - DSC_6845
  9. Looking back at Nikoi Island

    Looking back at Nikoi Island, it was actually already quite a distance away – this picture was cropped.

  10. Sunrise behind Rock Formations - DSC_6847
  11. Sunrise behind Rock Formations

    Sun peeking out from behind the rocks with birds flying past

  12. Mangrove Trees - DSC_6864
  13. Mangrove Trees

    Had enough of the sunrise and went back for some record shots of the mangrove trees

  14. 20130616_065338
  15. James was contented with shooting from afar

  16. Mangrove Trees - DSC_6865
  17. Mangrove Trees

    There was a long stretch of the mangrove trees

  18. Mangrove Trees - DSC_6868
  19. Mangrove Trees

    Interesting patterns can be observed on the exposed roots

  20. 20130616_073718
  21. Interesting face we found on some of the dead corals

  22. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.) - DSC_6895
  23. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.)

    Went back to the cabin for a break and found a Land Hermit Crab loitering around. Yup thats our cabin in the background!

  24. neIMG_9354
  25. Kissing the grass to get close-up shots of the visiting Land Hermit Crab

  26. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.) - DSC_6896
  27. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.)

    Good morning stretch

  28. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.) - DSC_6910
  29. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.)

    Going even closer. The Land Hermit Crab had a very vibrant purple hue.

  30. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.) - DSC_6902
  31. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.)

    Decided not to entertain me anymore and walked away…

  32. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.) - DSC_6912
  33. Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.)

    Oops, almost tripped!

  34. Boring Clam (Tridacna crocea) - DSC_6963
  35. Boring Clam (Tridacna crocea)

    James found this Boring Clam . Looks boring alright.

  36. neIMG_0733
  37. I tried to get closer shots of the boring clam.

  38. Boring Clam (Tridacna crocea) - DSC_6968
  39. Boring Clam (Tridacna crocea)

    Looking up close at the Boring Clam … not boring at all with the vibrant blue!

  40. Boring Clam (Tridacna crocea) - DSC_6982
  41. Boring Clam (Tridacna crocea)

    As the tide came up, the Boring Clam got submerged in water, revealing even more of the “lips”.

  42. Hermit Crab (Paguroidea) - DSC_6990
  43. Hermit Crab (Paguroidea)

    James also found this tiny Hermit Crab

  44. Long Black Sea Cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota) - DSC_7001
  45. Long Black Sea Cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota)

    There was also a Long Black Sea Cucumber crawling around

  46. Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.) - DSC_7011
  47. Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.)

    We found a Ghost Crab scurrying about on the sands. It wouldn’t stay still for us to shoot until it got onto my hand!

  48. Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.) - DSC_7020
  49. Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.)

    In a bid to escape from us, it got rather dirty in a different patch of sand.

  50. Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.) - DSC_7037
  51. Ghost Crab (Ocypode sp.)

    Ghost Crab adjusting it’s eye.. lol

  52. Wasp - DSC_7075
  53. Wasp

    Digger Wasp that I was chasing all over the sandy paths. Meanwhile, many walked by giving me strange stares.

  54. Wasp - DSC_7092
  55. Wasp

    Spider Wasp . This wasp hunts spiders in a rather cruel manner – by dismembering them.

  56. Orb Web Spider (Araneidae) - DSC_7093
  57. Orb Web Spider (Araneidae)

    Orb Web Spider

  58. DSC_7097
  59. An unidentified spider that walked up to me while I was trying to shoot the antlion larvae beside our cabin

  60. neIMG_0727
  61. There were many sand pits beside our cabin, which belonged to antlion larvae. Occasionally the monitor lizards would also come by to visit us.

  62. neIMG_0730
  63. The staff said that the monitor lizards liked to stay beneath the owners’ cabins. That’s me playing hide and seek with the antlions.

  64. Antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae) - DSC_7102
  65. Antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae)

    Antlion larva hiding in the sand

  66. Antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae) - DSC_7112
  67. Antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae)

    Managed to lure one Antlion larva out, all ready to pince on any passer-by!

  68. Antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae) - DSC_7117
  69. Antlion larva (Myrmeleontidae)

    The Antlion larva slowly backed into the sand when it realized it was just some irritating human…

It was a short day as we hardly got to sleep the night before. Decided to hit the sack earlier and do a solid walk the next day before we leave Nikoi. Check out the photos from Day 3 here.

The complete album for Day 2 can be viewed here (sunrise) and here (macro).

Nikoi Island [ Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 ]

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NICKY BAY
Singapore

Hi my name is Nicky Bay. I am a macro photographer, instructor and book author, travelling the world to document the vast micro biodiversity that nature has to offer. Follow my updates and discover with me the incredible beauty and science behind our planet's micro creatures!

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