Pictures for Pam, Day 185: Shells!

(+5 insets)

Before my husband was hired as a product photographer for a gem and beads company, he would do freelance projects that came along. He needed to have all kinds of "set dressing" available for backgrounds and interesting elements in the photos and that meant a box full of really neat junk! I would look through the various bags of stuff and imagine how much fun it would be to do macro studies of some of them.

One of the bags was full of different kinds of sea shells that he picked up at a "dollar" store. A few days ago I pulled the bag out and placed all of the shells on our table so I could appreciate each of them. I wondered what their story was. Where in the world did they come from? Were they from the same beach, picked up by the same person? Or were many people involved in the gathering of these shells? I wondered if the collectors were kids or adults, and I hoped they were paid decently for collecting these shells which I was now admiring. I doubted it. I felt a bit sad as I turned the shells over in my hands, running my fingers over the rough textures on one side and the smooth surfaces on the other.

How pretty they were. So many different sizes, shapes and colors…and every one was made by a sea creature to protect itself from predators. The life of a sea mollusk is so fascinating. They are one of our world's most ancient life forms. Did you know that if you visit the Grand Canyon (thanks Jaap!), you can find millions of tiny fossilized shells at the edge of the Canyon? Those prehistoric shells protected mollusks who lived on the bottom of the ocean…but millions of years ago, the ocean's floor was as high as the lip of the Grand Canyon! Sea mollusks have been around for a very, very, VERY long time!

Explored on 5/13/19; highest placement #4.

I finally got an excuse to take pictures of some of these shells and what fun I had! Such a cool subject to photograph. I took lots of photos and hoped that I'd get something special to share today…and it looks like I did! :)

My main picture is a favorite style of mine…extremely shallow dof with just a sliver in focus while the rest of the subject drifts away into bokeh. I just love the dreamy quality of this kind of picture and when I found this image I was really happy! I also have five insets for you to see. It's a good thing I limited myself to only 15 minutes for pictures or there would have been 25 insets to share! :D Then you would all hunt me down for putting up too many insets! HA! :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the presentation!

Pam, I did a search for "shell" on your stream and I found fossilized shells! But I also found this gorgeous Three-toed Box Tortoise and the choice was an easy one! :D What a gorgeous fellow...how lucky that you found it. A turtle or tortoise is definitely on my photo bucket list, congratulations to you for ticking this off your list! I hope this day had some happy times for you my dear! *BIG HUGS* from southern Oregon!

Explored on 5/14/19; highest placement #3.