
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — full exif
Mountains of Oyster Shells
A year ago we took a short trip to the Ise Peninsula, an area of Japan famous for its seafood in a country that has great seafood everywhere. In a previous post, I wrote at length about the food at our ryokan during that trip.
While on a drive around the area, we were in the middle of nowhere well off the beaten path when we came upon a huge mountain range of oyster shells.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 26mm — 1/250 sec, f/5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
100,000,000 Shells
(my guess, accurate, probably, to within several orders of magnitude)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 — full exif
Lots and Lots of This

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 26mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — full exif
They All Look Alike to Me

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/80 sec, f/10, ISO 100 — full exif
Volcanic Field
Finally, a bit of variety

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — 1/750 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Another Batch
(fuzzy crop from a much larger picture)
I chatted with the lady dropping off a load of shells. She said that the these piles represented about three month's worth of production, and that the shells would be used in the production of cement. Or dog food. I forget. At least they weren't going to waste.
This particular area was fairly desolate. It's where I took the “Hope” picture shown on the few pics from Ise post, which also includes some pretty pictures, as does this sunset and more post about the same trip.
I wonder if some parasite attacked the oysters, causing the small deposits.
Mel
I think those “little volcanos” are barnacles.
Ah, it’s for the pearl production. Here in France the oysters are for eating, so obviously they are sold with the shells.
I forgot to ask: actually didn’t it smell strongly?\
I don’t recall that it did, but it’s been a while. They seemed pretty clean, so perhaps had been the result of boiling or something. —Jeffrey