weekend photo feature:

[nm reef]

This weekend lets see how many different fish photos we can come up with...if possible include information on the subject and camera used.
Also.....I've started a few of these "weekend photo features" recently and I was thinking maybe we should establish some basic guidelines for each one.....like....each member willing to contribute post a single photo of each featured item and provide info on that photo....that way maybe we can get input and examples from as many members as possible and still have a decent number of photos to view. So please keep your attachments to one per member but feel free to post comments and/or questions as needed.
I'll start things off with a photo of my foxface rabbitfish shot with a Canon G5....no flash....aperture priority.......hand held. Editing normally consists of crop to define the subject...usually a bit of light adjustment and resize to fit requirements here (500x500 pixels maximum. I use Photoshop Elements 3.0 for my editing but try to alter the photos as little as possible. My goal is to produce photos that are as close to what my eye actually sees as possible. This photo is really close to the view when I walk over to the display and to me that is the mark of a good photograph.......hope you like it and I'm looking forward to the examples y'all have to offer....

 

[rabid frog]

One of my harder fish to get a good picture of. My other would be my Mandarin Goby (because he is never out).
Picture of my 6 line wrasse taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5700. Automatic settings and hand held. Phot edited with jasc paint shop for size.

 

[nm reef]

Now thats the sort of stuff I was hopefull we'd see....very nice photo of a very healthy looking 6-line. Thanks for contributing....but maybe we'll see examples from someplace other than New Mexico....what ya think?

 

[rabid frog]

dunno.... looks like they dont wanna play. Its your photos that makes everyone not wanna post. lol

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by rabid frog
dunno.... looks like they dont wanna play. Its your photos that makes everyone not wanna post. lol

I certainly hope (and I don't believe) that is true...because it was the quality of on-line photos that motivated me to take photos myself and I still find motivation to improve my results ... it would be nice to think that I've developed to the point that some of my photos can motivate others to become involved in photography....but in truth I still look for excellance in others results to continue to motivate me and that is my primary objective. Photography the same as reefkeeping is a very challenging hobby that requires dedication and attention to detail. I find inspiration for my hobby's in the efforts of fellow hobbyists and I'd hate to think my limited success deters folks from contributing.....

I start these threads more as a means of allowing all skill levels to participate and less as a means of displaying my photos...in all honesty one quality photo from somebody else still makes me strive to improve the quality of photos I can produce and I hope my photos can inspire others to the same level. Over the past several years the hobby of marine aquariums has evolved to include the hobby of photography ... in my mind they have become one.......reef aquariums and marine photography. I do take photos of many other subjects and I do have numerous examples of photos that are not hobby related...but the main focus of my photography hobby remains aquarium related and probably always will...at least it will as long as I remain active in maintaining marine aquariums.
Another thing.....aquarium photography is a lot like maintaining a aquarium. there are many different skill levels and desired objectives.....it may be possible that my experience keeping a reef can assist somebody in their attempts to keep a reef and at the same time I hope my efforts to produce quality marine photos can help somebody improve the quality of their photos. I am always in awe of the aquariums I see discussed on on-line forums just as I remain in awe of the quality of photos I see......I honestly still consider myself a hobbyist looking to improve and in my mind thats is one of the major pleasures I recieve from these two hobbys....the motivation to constantly improve and expand. For every decent photo I manage to produce I see numerous examples by much more experienced photographers that simply blow mine away.

but enough rant......lets see some more fish photos.....I'm confident they are out there.......

 

[jhebi]

As always NM, you got the most expectacular pictures that I seen......BEAUTIFUL

:joy: :joy:

 

[rabid frog]

Lol wow... I was just giving you a hard time Nm... Its always fun to see everyones pictures :jumping: I remember when Rye was on here... What a good photographer! What ever happened to him?
Lets see some fish!! Since nobody else is posting here is one of my favorites.
Same camera as before and software. This is my Flame hawk getting a taste test of the Shrimp. ( he did eventually eat him. took about 6 months for he to plot the murder.)

 

[hot883]

It is true NM, you do post the most amazing pics. I used a Kodak DX3900 3.1 mp for my shots. Included are my yellow tang, baggai cardinal, and my ever so camera shy clowns.

 

[jakebtc]

not really much comparison lmao but I want to contribute

 

[molamola]

That flamehawk picture is great

NM, you said you didn't use a flash, but did you adjust the lights any? :notsure:

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by rabid frog
Lol wow... I was just giving you a hard time Nm... Its always fun to see everyones pictures :jumping: I remember when Rye was on here... What a good photographer! What ever happened to him?
Lets see some fish!! Since nobody else is posting here is one of my favorites.
Same camera as before and software. This is my Flame hawk getting a taste test of the Shrimp. ( he did eventually eat him. took about 6 months for he to plot the murder.)
I haven't had any contact with Rye for well over a year...I saw him a few times on another site after he defected from here. I agree....he took some outstanding photos that really motivated me to improve my skills and the quality of my equipment.

....and about the only way to really give me a hard time on these forums is to be rude and disruptive like some very recent individuals that were booted....and booted,,,,and booted......and .... well you get the picture.

I like the picture of the flame....primarily due to the presence of the cleaner.....I have tried numerous times to get a decent shot of my cleaners but none have ever been good enough to share. The detail on yours is good.....a little washed out but overall a very good photo......I do have a good peek at a bloodred that I have saved in my "screen saver" folder...check this out....

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by hot883
It is true NM, you do post the most amazing pics. I used a Kodak DX3900 3.1 mp for my shots. Included are my yellow tang, baggai cardinal, and my ever so camera shy clowns.

All three are very nice...thanks for contributing. If I remember correctly that model Kodak was my first ever digital camera and I managed some really good shots with it.

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by jakebtc
not really much comparison lmao but I want to contribute

Don't be so hard on yourself....I like the photo you posted just fine. The whole point of these "weekend photo" threads is a opportunity to view photos from the members here and to share the quality of the photos "you" have to offer......not to compare the quality of your photos against anybody elses. If you like the quality of your photo post it........if viewing these threads helps you to take better quality....or in some way improves the quality of your photos then thats a positive. Overall I like the photo you posted.....what type of camera did you use?

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by MolaMola
That flamehawk picture is great

NM, you said you didn't use a flash, but did you adjust the lights any? :notsure:

If you mean did I adjust the lighting over my display ... no. That photo was taken with the 2x400 10K MH's and 2x110 actinic VHO's...as I remember I took the shot hand held with no flash. Now....I do sometimes adjust lighting with Photoshop Elements. I'll try to explain since you are interested. The first photo below is one I shot recently at my favorite LFS.......all that I have done to the first photo is to resize it to 500x375 pixels from the origional size of 2592x1944 pixels. In the second photo I have used Photoshop Elements to resize and to do the following:
enhance/adjust lighting/shadows&highlights
The shadows and highlights feature has three slide controls that can be used to adjust the lighting and improve overall picture quality....I set them to:
lighten shadows=0
darken highlights=29
midtone contrast=+20
The second photo shows the simple edits to bring out the color and lighting quality of the origional photo. On some photos there is more or less adjustment done.....I could go into more detail....but in general that is the basic steps I take with most of my photos to improve....not alter....improve the overall quality of the finished product.

 

[rubytoo]

I'd love to take great pic's of my fish.
What's the secret?
Mine are always blurry because the fish are moving.....
However, I have taken some good pic's of corals
I have a Canon PowerShot A70 3.2 MP
Any suggestions, you guys?
thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures!
:jumping:

 

[nm reef]

Now...just for fun and since I somehow got on the subject ...check this finished photo out. It is from the origional photo posted above. Crop/edit/resized and posted here.

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by rubytoo
I'd love to take great pic's of my fish.
What's the secret?
Mine are always blurry because the fish are moving.....
However, I have taken some good pic's of corals
I have a Canon PowerShot A70 3.2 MP
Any suggestions, you guys?
thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures!
:jumping:
I'm not familiar with that camera but there should be functions that allow for different shooting options.....try to dig into the manual and fine a means of adjusting the shutter speed and take photos with different shutter speeds. There should be several different shooting modes and you'll need to experiment with them and read thru the manual to fine settings that will improve the quality of your moving fish photos. I really can't help much more than that becasuse in truth I'm not all that technically knowledgeable....I just work real hard to understand how my camera works.....I use many settings and modes....and I take tons of pictures always trying to improve the quality.

...and another secret I'll share.....for every decent fish photo I've managed I'd bet I easily delete 50 or more that just don't turn out at all.

 

[nm reef]

We kind of got side tracked huh....but thats kewl because I've really been wanting to have these 'weekend photo" threads to turn into some productive discussions.......
But to get back on track here is a photo my nephew took of my flame angel ....and a bonus peek at my manderian......just to provide another example of a decent "fish" photo...

 

[isistius]

just made my first additions to my tank. here are two pics that i just snapped with my sony cybershot dsc-w1. hopefully my shrimp will come out and play along with my emeralds.....

 

[jakebtc]

man I've been wanting some true reds like those for a while hmmm

Anyway thanks NM I was going to take pics with my cheapy 2 mp but I just couldnt get a pic that was worth a darn so I just took a webcam shot lol
never got my olympus ..still waiting