On my 74th birthday Freddy and I decided to trek to the waterfall on the Carenage River, Grande Terre, New Caledonia. The mission was to create a sphere image in the pool at the base of the waterfall - above and below the water - right where the waterfall thunders into the clear pool. In addition, I really wanted to photograph jumpups but had no idea if my trusty little GoPro Hero3 camera rig would be able to capture them because jumpups are small, transparent, and move really fast.

Most people never notice jumpups but they abound in rapids and waterfalls. They are perfectly easy to see, but we tend to be so mesmerized by a massive waterfall or a dramatic scene of wild rapids that the tiny jumpups are not properly admired.

Jumpups leap up out of rapidly moving water, sometimes soaring over a meter into the air. They really pop out of a waterfall - sometimes right at the top, sometimes in the middle of the cascade - and can land several meters away from the base of the falls. They are amazing to watch and I can't imagine how or why they form.

But WOW, the little GoPros exceeded my every expectation, not only time-freezing the jumpups into delightful jewels but also revealing a whole array of embryonic jumpups forming amazing crystaline water sculptures at the base of the waterfall.

Some of the jumpups are perfect little spheres but others are somehow rumpled into mulberry shapes. Enjoy their display and next time you go to see a waterfall be sure to allow the jumpups to bring you some joy.