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Some Pics

45K views 103 replies 30 participants last post by  cyclonecichlids 
#1 ·
Here are some images from my latest photo shoot. These models, while glamorous, DO NOT take direction well. At all.

Although, this holding hara did smile when I asked.


Fry playing peek-a-boo


Proud Papa


Teeth


Lab fry playing peek-a-boo


Hara fry in growout, look at the size of that eye!


And a VERY short video of hara fry in a growout.


Thanks for looking!
 
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#52 ·
GTZ said:
Razzo said:
Beautiful work! Does your camera have a full frame sensor?
Thanks Russ! I wish it was full frame, unfortunately I like having two arms and two legs, lol. It's a Nikon D3100, with a Yongnuo speedlight which helps tons. I was just drooling over at your peacock/hap thread.
Welcome to the dark side. :D
Thanks mate :)

I too still have both arms and legs :lol: Full frame sensor would be nice. Right now, without a flash, I struggle with shutter speed and ISO. My lens only goes down to f/4.5 (a prime lens would help allow more light to come in). Typically, I am stuck with an ISO of 800, f/4.5, and 1/80. It helps turning down the luminance in Adobe Camera RAW. Think I need to invest in a speedylight :wink: I think, I noticed to you are shooting at f/16 or f/20? The flash makes that big of a difference?

Once again, beautiful work! Very inspiring!

Cheers,
Russ
 
#53 ·
Thanks Russ. I typically shoot at as small an aperture as I can for a deeper depth of field. One of the best features of the speedlight is the ability to adjust the output. It opens things up quite a lot and I'm free to leave the ISO and aperture where I want them and then adjust the speedlight to (hopefully) create the perfect exposure. Of course the fish don't always cooperate. Because the flash is firing from the top of the aquarium down, fish that are near the surface can be overexposed and conversely, fish that are lower in the aquarium often lead to underexposed shots. I managed to get up around f/32 with the speedlight on full but I think the sharpness starts to go downhill or at least it becomes more difficult to capture properly focused images.
I didn't clean up any of these. :oops:

f/32 ISO400 1/160


f/32 ISO400 1/160


f/18 ISO200 1/160


Full size crop of image 3


f/3.5 ISO100 1/160 for some depth of field
 
#54 ·
GTZ said:
...Because the flash is firing from the top of the aquarium down, fish that are near the surface can be overexposed and conversely, fish that are lower in the aquarium often lead to underexposed shots...
So, you have to find your "sweet spots" too :)

I guess it is time for me to finally get a decent flash :oops:

Love your pics. Thanks for the inspiration!

Russ
 
#55 ·
New fish! Incredibly difficult to photograph. I think due to them being dark the camera takes forever to focus, by then, they're long gone. Won't sit still for a second. I'll be switching back to an aragonite substrate I think, it's too dark in there. I may try swapping the led fixture for the T5 first.
These guys are around 1.5".











 
#58 ·
GTZ said:
New fish! Incredibly difficult to photograph. I think due to them being dark the camera takes forever to focus, by then, they're long gone. Won't sit still for a second. I'll be switching back to an aragonite substrate I think, it's too dark in there. I may try swapping the led fixture for the T5 first.
These guys are around 1.5".

Hey, GTZ. Could you tell us about the species pictured in your post? They look gorgeous, and remind me of Tropheus.
 
#61 ·
Iggy Newcastle said:
Thanks for sharing these excellent photos! I love the FTS. Lighting is perfect.
Foooooled youuuu.;) It would be cool if that was the normal lighting but it's a low light shot with the flash on top of the tank firing down. I'll have to get a normal FTS with the new substrate.
 
#64 ·
Thanks very much! No photography guide I'm afraid. To start I'd suggest finding an online tutorial where you can get a handle on the gibberish such as ISO, shutter speed, exposure, etc. There are tons of online photography sites to read up on, as well as Youtube where you can learn via video. What are you shooting with? I recommend a DSLR, a zoom or macro lens and if possible an external flash.
This is where I'd like to end up some day:



This is Mo Devlin (Aquamojo). Count the flash units. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There may be a couple more behind but it's hard to make out.
 
#74 ·
Iggy Newcastle said:
I picked up a new camera, D7100 and two more flashes
Must be nice! :)
:p

Took some more pics today. Been a while since I shot the Tropheus. I stripped the holding hara yesterday and took a few pics of the fry. These guys are hard to shoot as their tank is 7 or 8 inches above the floor. My stomach and neck are sore...









 
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