For a week, Tobias observed the Sisyphean efforts of the timid ghost crab, as each night its mining activities created tiny mounds, which were then washed away by the morning tide.
He decided that timelapse would be the best way to depict both its collective industry and its relationship with the tide cycle. The sandcastles of the ghost crab are a by-product of its nightly excavation work, digging spiralling burrows up to a metre deep, down into the sand. It shelters there during the day from heat and predators and emerges at night to feed, at which point the burrow also acts as a handy ambush point.
Germany
Originally from Munich, and trained as a graphic artist, Tobias moved to the South Pacific in 1991 to combine his creativity with a passion for the underwater world through photography. He has since sailed the South Pacific islands in search of interesting wildlife encounters. He lives with his wife Neelam on an old converted fishing boat.
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