I’ve been struggling for some time now to find a way to take an interesting photo of what I call the “King Kong” crab…for lack of a better name. (Does anyone know the binomial name for this crab?)
This dark-maroon, velvety-textured crustacean is about the most un-photogenic (read: “butt ugly”) animal I’ve ever come across. This is the reason I set myself the challenge of creating a captivating image of this crab…to underscore the point that photography is art. In this case, the art of making this homely critter look intriguing.
So I as stared at this odd-looking animal, I thought of King Kong, and I imagined how this creature might have been portrayed in a King Kong movie. Here’s what I came up with:
What I saw in my mind’s eye was King Kong towering on the craggly rocks of a remote island, surveying his dominion, with the evening sun in the background framing his imposing figure (never mind that the crab is only a few centimetres tall).
Shortly after taking this picture, I came across another crab, this specimen nestled in among the polyps of a soft coral organism. Again, with King Kong in mind, I took the photo below imagining the great beast lurking among exotic trees in a primeval forest, poised to leap out and ambush unwary explorers.
Photography can be much more than just documenting what you see. It can be creating what you imagine…for others to see.
Oh…in case you’re wondering…yes, my mind wanders to strange, distant places all the time.
Thankfully my Lembeh trip isn’t until a couple of months otherwise I would be competing with King Kong Crab for the most un-photogenic (read: Butt Ugly) creature award.
If you’re accepting photographic ideas, I would love to see King Kong Crab photographed in the same manner as the octopus on the cover of Silent Symphony, but with the light pointing up instead of down.
Of course, it needs to be eating something or swimming high up into the water column.
Hi Laz,
Let’s compromise. Get someone to take a photo of you with a light pointing up
Cheers,
Tony
Love the second one Tony. Really great shot. Way to make an ugly critter look good without doing the “so ugly its cute” thing.
commonly called the Orangutan crab..
Is yours the same as an Orangutan crab? I have never thought of them as ugly. See my capture here: http://www.uwencounters.com/Underwater/2009-Portfolio/March-31-2009082035/588406990_oZrXw-XL-6.jpg
i think he is cute and cool!
I followed a small hot-pink crab (similar to the crab in your first photo) when I was in Lembeh this Sep. I loved it. It looked like a martial arts exponent, moving rapidly and stopping occasionally in its kungfu poses!
)
Thanks everyone.
Mike: Is this the same as the hairy orangutan crab (Achaeus japonicus)? These crabs weren’t hairy (they were velvety), and had white eyes instead of the usual red.
Plus, the first one was lumbering around out in the open across the rocks. Not something I normally associate with the hairy orangutan crabs, though quite normal for these hairless crabs. The second one wasn’t walking around, but still relatively hair-free.
ya, looking over the two i am not sure, the second one certainly looks japonicus but the first one looks like someone took the clippers to it
I was just shooting them at jahir the other day, gave up after 3 shots because of boring rocky bottom. haha mine also have the white eyes but more hairy like your second one
It does look like the third photo here, but wrong colour on the eyes
http://www.seadb.univpm.it/en_Orang-utan-crab-Achaeus-japonicus_54.htm
The second one also doesn’t really have hair. The lighting makes it look a bit fuzzy, but it was the same texture.
The body shapes are very similar to the normal orangutan crabs. It’s just the hair/ lack of hair, red/ white eyes, and the fact that I’ve always seen these hairless ones out in the open or nearly in the open, whereas the hairy ones seem always to be associated with bubble coral, an anemone or something similar.
I don’t really know enough about them though. It’s a mystery.
For the time being…they’re still King Kong crabs for me
I was in Lembeh from the end of October till last week.
Seems it is from the same family.
http://forum-photosub.fr/forum/images/upload/steph/ssa_2257_197.jpg
http://forum-photosub.fr/forum/images/upload/steph/ssa_2259_668.jpg
For the dive site it was on sand (beach) a few hundred meters after magic rocks.
Hi Stéphane,
Yes, this is the same crab! Hope you had a great time in Lembeh.
Cheers,
Tony
Appears to be a spider crab of some sort but I would not think it’s the orang-utan crab.
Thanks Ron. I agree. It’s most probably a close relative, but the appearance and behavior suggest it’s not the same species.
Cheers,
Tony
Saw the same crab on 11/29/09 in Lembeh while staying at Kasawari. Just load one pic to flickr for reference.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonniewai/sets/72157622872936193/