[Aquamojo]

I shot photos of the Managuense (F0 Honduran) the other day. The male basically knocked his fangs out...as someone else here pointed out having the same problem. The female however has an impressive set of canines. IN total I shot about sixty photos...and probably have two dozen close ups of the teeth. I am waiting on a new lens that will allow some extreme macro shots. Soon...

Here's the set up for the photos:

I intentionally put the flash pointing down the length of the divider. Initially I was hoping to "split the light" to capture both sides of the divider...photographing the posturing between the pair. It worked...OK...but wasn't pleased overall. The dark body on the male is too much of a contrast in color and luminance. But while I was adjusting the light i noticed that even though the light didn't split, the white side of the PVC acted as a supplemental fill to the body of the Female. I have about a dozen shots like this one...

...but thought this was the best of the lot. Through experience I notice that the female will also respond to items placed on the top of the tank...but not the flash...which is ultimately positioned above and to the far right. Once again I was able to place my lens cap on the top of the tank....wait till she noticed it...step back and take the shot. If I leave the cap there...she ultimately will ignore it...so I pick it up, place it down, slide it around....LOL, she's predictable.

One more shot:

For what it's worth when I shoot from this angle the divider always plays **** with me getting the proper exposure. Rather than reinvent the wheel every time I go to take a photo, I have saved the settings in the D-300 for shooting that particular tank. Since I have more tanks than I do available setting options, I only do this for the handful of tanks that give me heartburn. For the others I keep a shooting diary. Just simple things...like WB, ISO, Flash settings, etc.

Here's dad. Quite a color difference. He's also predictable. In order to get this "type pose" I break out my trusty yardstick. Put the stick at the left...fish attacks glass on left. Step back move the yardstick to the right...as the fish turns, take the shot. If you notice, I have a lot of photos with this sort of pose.

Hope you enjoyed the photos and some of the details.

 

[nimboman]

All I can say is BEAutiful.

 

[dwarfpike]

Absolutely beautiful fish ... and thanks for the tips/thought processes behind the camera too!!!

 

[Reiner]

I really love the write ups you have been doing lately on your posts. Thanks for all the tips. It also really shows your dedication to phoyagraphy just by the shear number of pics you are taking. First of I don't have your pro equipment but I usually take no more then 10 pics and then I get frustrated and just leave it be since I can't get the fish properly eluminated. What would you recommend on doing if you don't have a detachable flash but I also don't want to use the built in flash that the camera has since it always puts a huge glare on the pics. Also what ISO speed do you use the most.

 

[Aquamojo]

The best way to avoid the glare is to stand back and zoom in to frame your shot. Make sure to slightly angle the camera. This will bury the flash on an area not in the shot. Also, if your camera has "spot focus" try using that. Most of the cameras meter how much light that goes out based on where the center of focus is. If you use and open matrix focus field (the default setting) the flash setting will often be slightly over or under depending on the subject.

Keep in mind that a photo is only a recording of reflected light. If that light goes out and bounces back off of a lighter colored object (tank ornament, gravel, even another fish like a Metynsis or other silver bodied fish) it's going to mess with the proper setting. You can get around this by utilizing the manual setting on both the flash and camera....or simply remove the offending object. You will see that a lot of the photos I take are away from high glare/white objects. Even some of the pots that I use frequently in my tanks can cause problems...reflecting an orange cast to the fish.

Regarding the ISO...I always try and shoot at 200 or somewhere there abouts. The D300 is very forgiving when it comes to noise...but why take a chance.