Contortionist: Southern Keeled Octopus in Shell

CONTORTIONIST: is the name given to this photographic print of a Southern Keeled Octopus (Octopus berrima) seeking refuge in a discarded conch shell. The 24 x 16 inch landscape orientation print comes with a certificate of authenticity and is signed and numbered.

The Southern Keeled Octopus is a master of disguise and camouflage. Found in Shallow coastal waters of South-Eastern Australia, they are a cream to light brown colouration — meaning that they blend in unbelievably well with their natural habitat of shells and sandy substrate. When agitated the can flare their webs and mantle to increase their size and warn off potential prey. This specimen was more than comfortable to calmly observe me from the safety of its shell.

This photo was taken in July 2019 by Sam Glenn-Smith at Blairgowrie Marina during a night dive. It was a desire of his to photograph this kind of behavior, that of an octopus seeking and finding refuge in a shell, and the outcome produced is spectacular.

Photo Print

This photo is printed onto a high quality 310 gsm professional photographic paper locally on the Mornington Peninsula using professional machinery at a professional printing company. This ensures that your print will be of high quality and long lasting.

Each print measures 24 x 16 inch (60.96 x 40.64 cm) making it a perfect size for most rooms, whether it be a single print or multiple in a collection.

Photo Framing

We Do Not Supply Frames or Do Framing

The convenient photo sizing makes framing solutions simple, with plenty of readily available 24 x 16 inch framing options. You also have the choice of larger frame sizes by using mount boards to give the image more negative space.

We do not supply frames with these orders — only the prints. We recommend taking the print to a local company that is able to frame up the photo for you. Alternatively you can frame the photo yourself in appropriately sized frame.

Example landscape print framing.

Photo Delivery

These photographic prints are done to order. We do not hold stock of these photos in store. Please allow 3 to 5 business days for printing and packaging before the print is sent out. To achieve high quality, we don't hurry the process. The prints are shipped in tubes via Australia Post and you will be sent an email with the tracking details when it ships.

Sam Glenn-Smith

This photo was taken by Sam Glenn-Smith, who also works as a Divemaster at The Scuba Doctor, where he takes customers on Guided Dives and helps out in the dive shop. You can follow Sam's underwater adventures on his Facebook page Sammy Glenn Dives.

Sam has been diving the Mornington Peninsula for many years and photographing the local marine life. His wonderful works focus on highlighting the amazing diversity of the Mornington Peninsula dive sites — which he rates as some of the best diving and best critter diversity in the world. He also tries to reflect characters of these amazing critters, showing off their unique and individual personalities.

(11/19 LRB)