UKDIVING
Hydroids and a tiny amphipod, Giants Legs
Hermit crab in a brittlestar bed
The Giant’ s Legs support a variety of encrusting life, including the hydroids pictured here. Look closely and you will see a very small amphipod, something of a Holy Grail among macro photographers.“ There are walls of hydroids on the Giant’ s Legs,” Billy says.“ The challenge is choosing which one to isolate with your camera. And if you find one with a wee amphipod in there it’ s a bonus, but it’ s not easy. I’ ve got a million of these where it’ s all blurry.”
Serenity in the shallows
Away from the high energy zones, Billy savours the calm of Shetland’ s brittlestar communities, similar to the ones at St Abbs or the Scottish sea lochs. The photo of a hermit crab nestling in a forest of them was taken on a boat dive near Mid Yell, where they live on a colony of horse mussels.“ We get layers of life here,” says Billy.“ The brittlestars are attracted to the mussels, and they in turn bring in crustaceans. If you get lucky there may even be a flapper skate moving across the site. It’ s so good for photography, you just wish you had 10 cylinders so that you could sit there all day shooting.”
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