Abalone Shell Abstract 4

This is a macro photo of the inside of an abalone shell.... more

by Sarah Loft

Title

Abalone Shell Abstract 4

Artist

Sarah Loft

Medium

Photograph

Description

This is a macro photo of the inside of an abalone shell.

Per Wikipedia: Abalone is a common name for any of a group of small to very large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae.

Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and muttonfish or muttonshells in Australia, ormer in Great Britain, perlemoen in South Africa, and paua in New Zealand.

Abalone are marine snails. Their taxonomy puts them in the family Haliotidae which contains only one genus, Haliotis, which once contained six subgenera. These subgenera have become alternate representations of Haliotis. The number of species recognized worldwide ranges between 30 and 130 with over 230 species-level taxa described.

The shells of abalones have a low, open spiral structure, and are characterized by several open respiratory pores in a row near the shell's outer edge. The thick inner layer of the shell is composed of nacre (mother-of-pearl), which in many species is highly iridescent, giving rise to a range of strong, changeable colors, which make the shells attractive to humans as decorative objects, jewelry, and as a source of colorful mother-of-pearl.

The flesh of abalones is widely considered to be a desirable food, and is consumed raw or cooked by a variety of cultures.

The shell of abalones is convex, rounded to oval in shape, and may be highly arched or very flattened.

A mantle cleft in the shell impresses a groove in the shell, in which are the row of holes characteristic of the genus. These holes are respiratory apertures for venting water from the gills and for releasing sperm and eggs into the water column.

The shell of the abalone is exceptionally strong and is made of microscopic calcium carbonate tiles stacked like bricks. Between the layers of tiles is a clingy protein substance. When the abalone shell is struck, the tiles slide instead of shattering and the protein stretches to absorb the energy of the blow. Material scientists around the world are studying this tiled structure for insight into stronger ceramic products such as body armor.

Per Wikipedia: Nacre, also known as mother of pearl, is an organic-inorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it also makes up the outer coating of pearls. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.

Per Wikipedia: Abstract photography, sometimes called non-objective, experimental, conceptual or concrete photography, is a means of depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the object world and that has been created through the use of photographic equipment, processes or materials. An abstract photograph may isolate a fragment of a natural scene in order to remove its inherent context from the viewer, it may be purposely staged to create a seemingly unreal appearance from real objects, or it may involve the use of color, light, shadow, texture, shape and/or form to convey a feeling, sensation or impression. The image may be produced using traditional photographic equipment like a camera, darkroom or computer, or it may be created without using a camera by directly manipulating film, paper or other photographic media, including digital presentations.

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Featured in the Strictly Neon group, June 2020.

Uploaded

August 28th, 2018