aquarium shots

[jann1033]

i took some recently and some came out, some were so so, any tips that would make the next batch better? i think the biggest problem was getting glare from the lit signs in the shot...but it would be to dark to use a cp and can't always get my lens right up to the glass.. some of the images also seemed softer than others maybe cause they were moving . i had the ISO at 800, used my 50mm lens at 1.8 or 2.8 and will use center metering( used evaluation last time). anything else i should know????
thanks

shark 125 f2.8 starfish 100 f1.8...maybe cause the s.fish are in a smaller tank with less particles in the water? if so how could i compensate for that

for some reason the starfish remind me of a bunch of guys sitting on the couch watching football

 

[Furgus]

I posted this before, but hey I like the shot

This was taken at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Lens was on the glass, and wait for about 30 sec for this little guy to come into view. Full flash.

EXIF:
Nikon D50
1/60 sec
f/5.0
40mm
I think it was ISO 400, but I am not sure.
Shot in NEF(RAW)

 

[Michele]

I took these in 2002, just a few months after we went digital with an Olympus C-4040. These were just P&S, with no flash. I think the clarity turned out good. At first I thought that I had something set wrong to make them come out so blue, but from the far away shot of the aquarium I could see it really was that blue.

Atlantis Hotel-Bahamas

 

[JR6ooo4]

Rather than post my good shots, I will tell you that in my two trips to the John G Shed Aquarium in Chicago I returned with about 10% acceptable. It is deceiving, the ambient light is very dark which makes the lights in the tank look brighter than they realy are. It is a challenge.

I did better with DW's S2 then with my rebel. Trying to choose between the 28-135mm at about f4.5 or the "not wide enough" 50mm f1.8.

Mikeeee

try the snakes, they do not move as much...

 

[ramkam]

Birtch Aquarium @ La Jolla, CA

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

 

[mhutchinson]

Doin' the Jellies....

The best tip I have found when taking pictures of tanks is to be very concious of any reflections on the tanks. Sometimes moving even a little bit to the side or up or down and shooting at a slight angle will remove reflections. A polarizer will also help, but for certain shots it will make them too dark. In this case I also utilized the IS built in to the lens

Mike

 

[rtphokie]

I posted this before, but hey I like the shot

This was taken at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Lens was on the glass, and wait for about 30 sec for this little guy to come into view. Full flash.

EXIF:
Nikon D50
1/60 sec
f/5.0
40mm
I think it was ISO 400, but I am not sure.
Shot in NEF(RAW)

I've shot there a couple of times, nice aquarium. I enjoy taking the ferry there from Southport.

Getting the lens up against the glass is a good technique, a circular polarizer can also get rid of glare and reflections. A monopod is handy in aquariums and doesn't get in the way of other guests.

Some more from Fort Fischer, all shot with a Canon G3 with internal flash:

 

[jann1033]

so i notice some are using flash..maybe i'll try that as the flash would stop the fish and make it less blurry...

and jr6, as per your recommendation about the snakes....i did get a good one of the sloth

ramkan, nothing to do with your abilites which are good but that is the ugliest fish i ever saw

 

[JR6ooo4]

at the Shed aquarium flash photography is not allowed. Though it is hard for them to stop everyone.

and usualy a flash shot does not look natural in an aquarium.

Mikeeee

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Good aquarium photography is wicked hard. Most of the time you are really close, so if you shoot wide open, you get very little of your shot in focus. If you stop down, you usually don't have enough light and either the camera or the subject moves.

You can help cut down on glare off the glass by either putting your lens on the glass or at least shading the glass in front of your lens.

Here are a few of my more successful shots from the Aquarium in Monterey: