UWOL 18 - Rock Boring Urchins

Catherine Russell · November 26th, 2010, 12:49 PM

Bill:

SPLENDID! This is what I think the spirit of UWOL is all about.... pushing to new heights, exploring new techniques, never staying in the comfort zone and using the forum as a testing ground. I like it. Many of you have done just that this round and I am pleased to see it.

Ever since I witnessed the time lapses in your previous entry, a GoPro is certainly on my wish list.

Nicely done, Bill. Previous posts have discussed the technical draw-back and limitations to this first attempt at using the GOPro time lapse for this application, and these are excellent observations. But after all is hashed out about the technique.... we must marvel at what you have been able to capture on film!!! An entirely new world unfolds before our eyes. The seemingly static comes alive and we witness how hard at work the Urchin actually is. The effort that you put into this is evident. Can you tell, did you return to the same Urchin every time?

I was also amused with how the capturing of the fish played out in the time laps.

Well done, friend. I'm please you went for this.

Cat

Mike Sims · November 26th, 2010, 01:09 PM

@Marj- If you try to prize an urchin off of it’s substrate by force it will just cling tightly with it’s hundreds to thousands of tube feet and you will only remove it by damaging it. This is one of those situations where a little persistent tickling will yield the desired result. (No lewd jokes please!) Just tap at the base with the back of a knife and it will begin to retract the tube feet and you can begin to lever it away. Continue tapping and eventually it will retract enough feet and pop right off.

Marj Atkins · November 26th, 2010, 11:46 PM

Aha!!

I just knew you would know the trick!! Thanks Mike!

Bob Safay · November 28th, 2010, 05:05 PM

Bill, how interesting. I would have never known that these little critters would have made these perfectly round holes in the rock. They kind of reminded me of the "Scrubbing Bubbles" commercial. It was a joy to watch and a very well done nature documentary. You really taught us all something. Only thing I would comment on is that (unless I missed it) they are boring holes for shelter and not looking for food. Great job. Bob

Bill Thesken · November 29th, 2010, 12:07 AM

Cat- I did return to the same urchin every day for a week. I really looked forward to it, and it's just down the street from my house. I made it my friend whether it knew it or not. I wanted to get some footage of the underside but could not get this one out of it's wedged area without damage. The tube feet are actually hard spines that if stepped on go right into the skin and break off, quite painful. The good thing about this species is that they are usually in the hole that they bored and it's not as exposed as the black urchin, the dreaded 'Wana' (Vana) that sits on top of the coral reefs and is the usual culprit that is stepped on.
Marj - the GoPro is freezing up when the SD card is inserted. Hopefully they will replace or repair the camera, and they told me to send it in for a look. I really used it a lot, made a couple of 1/2 hour surfing films for the kids and a couple of short UWOL flicks. I had it in the water filming for about 100 hours and got some good footage.
Looks like I'll be an Over Land filmer for a while, but better that than Over the Hill! :)

November 26th, 2010, 12:49 PM	#16
Catherine Russell Trustee Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Lyons, Colorado Posts: 1,224	Bill: SPLENDID! This is what I think the spirit of UWOL is all about.... pushing to new heights, exploring new techniques, never staying in the comfort zone and using the forum as a testing ground. I like it. Many of you have done just that this round and I am pleased to see it. Ever since I witnessed the time lapses in your previous entry, a GoPro is certainly on my wish list. Nicely done, Bill. Previous posts have discussed the technical draw-back and limitations to this first attempt at using the GOPro time lapse for this application, and these are excellent observations. But after all is hashed out about the technique.... we must marvel at what you have been able to capture on film!!! An entirely new world unfolds before our eyes. The seemingly static comes alive and we witness how hard at work the Urchin actually is. The effort that you put into this is evident. Can you tell, did you return to the same Urchin every time? I was also amused with how the capturing of the fish played out in the time laps. Well done, friend. I'm please you went for this. Cat

November 26th, 2010, 01:09 PM	#17
Mike Sims Major Player Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 880	@Marj- If you try to prize an urchin off of it’s substrate by force it will just cling tightly with it’s hundreds to thousands of tube feet and you will only remove it by damaging it. This is one of those situations where a little persistent tickling will yield the desired result. (No lewd jokes please!) Just tap at the base with the back of a knife and it will begin to retract the tube feet and you can begin to lever it away. Continue tapping and eventually it will retract enough feet and pop right off.

November 26th, 2010, 11:46 PM	#18
Marj Atkins Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Johannesburg South Africa Posts: 768	Aha!! I just knew you would know the trick!! Thanks Mike!

November 28th, 2010, 05:05 PM	#19
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,558	Bill, how interesting. I would have never known that these little critters would have made these perfectly round holes in the rock. They kind of reminded me of the "Scrubbing Bubbles" commercial. It was a joy to watch and a very well done nature documentary. You really taught us all something. Only thing I would comment on is that (unless I missed it) they are boring holes for shelter and not looking for food. Great job. Bob

November 29th, 2010, 12:07 AM	#20
Bill Thesken Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: HI, USA Posts: 622	Cat- I did return to the same urchin every day for a week. I really looked forward to it, and it's just down the street from my house. I made it my friend whether it knew it or not. I wanted to get some footage of the underside but could not get this one out of it's wedged area without damage. The tube feet are actually hard spines that if stepped on go right into the skin and break off, quite painful. The good thing about this species is that they are usually in the hole that they bored and it's not as exposed as the black urchin, the dreaded 'Wana' (Vana) that sits on top of the coral reefs and is the usual culprit that is stepped on. Marj - the GoPro is freezing up when the SD card is inserted. Hopefully they will replace or repair the camera, and they told me to send it in for a look. I really used it a lot, made a couple of 1/2 hour surfing films for the kids and a couple of short UWOL flicks. I had it in the water filming for about 100 hours and got some good footage. Looks like I'll be an Over Land filmer for a while, but better that than Over the Hill! :)