RUNNER-UP CATEGORY OTHER ANIMALS
Theo Bosboom | March of the mussels

Name: Theo Bosboom
Picture title: March of the mussels
Category: Other Animals
Nationality: The Netherlands
Occupation: Full-time photographer

Technical information
Camera: Canon R5
Lens: Laowa 24 mm probelens (wide angle macro)
EXIF: 0,6 sec at f32 * ISO 200 * focus stack of 10 images
Accessories: Leofoto tripod

Theo Bosboom says:

A bed of mussels photographed in their natural habitat in the intertidal zone of Praia da Ursa, a spectacular beach on the Atlantic west coast of Portugal. Mussels are often found densely clustered together on rocks. Although mussels are firmly attached to the rocks and don’t move, they reminded me a bit of a marching army, with their shells resembling the shields of soldiers. With a little imagination, you might see a scene straight out of Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.

I captured this image using a probelens (from Laowa), a long, thin macro wide-angle lens. I carefully positioned it just above the mussels, allowing me to show them very close and large in the frame while also including the stunning backdrop of Praia da Ursa.

Mussels face two significant dangers in their lives. The first is predation by birds or sea stars, and the second is being dislodged and washed away from their preferred habitat. They protect themselves from these threats by attaching to one another using byssal threads, forming extensive mats of mussels. This communal strategy means mussels are safer when surrounded by more of their kind.

I used focus stacking to enhance the depth of field.