21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Life in the cracks

Living in between two cast concrete slabs that make up the walls of a sea overflow storm drain that travels under a busy road in Dorset we have a small sea gherkin. In our local location this is the only place where I find an abundance of these echinoderms living in almost every join and crack, feeding on the passing detritus and the tide washes through the storm drain twice a day. For me this image portrays a real positive story regarding our interaction with the environment as we have inadvertantly created the perfect conditions for this species to thrive. I love how the concrete walls feel like a painting, when you examine them closely they are covered in a large variety of species encrusting them and the reflection of my strobe onto the detritus particles in the crack makes it feel almost space like , a universe beyond ours.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 10.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Portland, United Kingdom
Camera: ILCE-7RM4A
Copyright: © sandra stalker