A second run at the Aquarium

[robbins.photo]

Learned a lot from my first roll through, hopefully that reflects in the images I got this time around. Either way had a ball this weekend

DSC_4663 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr

DSC_4578 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr

DSC_4304 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr

DSC_4201 by Todd Robbins, on Flickr

 

[Overread]

REALLY good shots - aquariums I've always found very challenging because they are the nasty combo of very dim conditions; moving subjects and often very little working room coupled with dealing with the haze/issues that shooting through thick glass can present - so these are great shots.

I'd be interested in hearing what settings nad how you approached shooting these as well as if you did anything out of the ordinary in editing - sadly I only visit aquariums once or so a year so often as not each time I go its like going again for the first time and I only get in the swing of things near the end (if ever)

 

[robbins.photo]

REALLY good shots - aquariums I've always found very challenging because they are the nasty combo of very dim conditions; moving subjects and often very little working room coupled with dealing with the haze/issues that shooting through thick glass can present - so these are great shots.

I'd be interested in hearing what settings nad how you approached shooting these as well as if you did anything out of the ordinary in editing - sadly I only visit aquariums once or so a year so often as not each time I go its like going again for the first time and I only get in the swing of things near the end (if ever)

Thanks Over.. greatly appreciated..

Well I was shooting the 70-200mm 2.8. I shot wide open, which I don't do all that often, shot as close to the subjects as I could get at 70mm mostly for the most DOF I could achieve wide open using that lens.

I used the camera raw filter in photoshop to reduce noise and added some dehazing, then when needed cloned out those little specks you always get of light reflecting off either the glass or the water. Tough part was guessing shutter speed, For the big, slow moving guy I dropped it all the way down to 1/80, the shark I think was in the 1/160 range, fastest I went was for the penguin at 1/320. Much past that my ISO would go into the nose bleed section and the pictures just wouldn't turn out the way I wanted them.

So yup, much higher miss percentage than normal because of the lighting conditions, but all in all was pretty happy with the results.

 

[goooner]

Excellent shots, the exif are on flicker. I find that at some angles my Tammy 70-200 really struggles with chroma. I will update my Leipzig zoo thread with a few aquarium shots, but none as good as these!

 

[Overread]

Yeah lens choice is a bit of a nightmare; and from a practical depth of field stand point chances are f2 is probably as wide as one would like to go - so even those bright primes might not offer a huge bonus (though might find auto focusing a bit easier).

Shutter speeds are interesting and quit varied too - if you're at the 70mm end then might be the 28-75mm might be a better tool; or did you find that the reach of the 70-200m was preferable for some shots

 

[robbins.photo]

Excellent shots, the exif are on flicker. I find that at some angles my Tammy 70-200 really struggles with chroma. I will update my Leipzig zoo thread with a few aquarium shots, but none as good as these!

Don't sell yourself short, your zoo thread is awesome. Some really top notch shots in there.

 

[MSnowy]

Very nice!

 

[robbins.photo]

Yeah lens choice is a bit of a nightmare; and from a practical depth of field stand point chances are f2 is probably as wide as one would like to go - so even those bright primes might not offer a huge bonus (though might find auto focusing a bit easier).

Shutter speeds are interesting and quit varied too - if you're at the 70mm end then might be the 28-75mm might be a better tool; or did you find that the reach of the 70-200m was preferable for some shots

The 28-75 I found didn't really work out all that well.. but I think a lot of that was me rather than the lens. Found I was zooming in and out a lot and focusing on that rather than on other things. Strangely enough I found it worked a lot better to use the 70-200mm more along the lines of a prime, set it at 2.8 / 70 mm and then shoot from there. If I needed too I could zoom in further, but it sort of made me get far enough back that a lot of the glare/reflections from the glass weren't nearly as evident.

 

[Overread]

I do find it odd sometimes with a smaller lens I find it harder to hold just because I hvae to nestle my left hand so close to the camera; even though the weight is more central it feels harder to hold; whilst a longer lens I've got something at more comfortable range to just grip and hold (even though its heavier on the front).

Might be a symptom of not shooting enough with smaller lenses

 

[robbins.photo]

I do find it odd sometimes with a smaller lens I find it harder to hold just because I hvae to nestle my left hand so close to the camera; even though the weight is more central it feels harder to hold; whilst a longer lens I've got something at more comfortable range to just grip and hold (even though its heavier on the front).

Might be a symptom of not shooting enough with smaller lenses

I run into the same thing - I really love my 28-75 for certain things but I shoot with the 70-200mm about 85% of the time or more, so when I mount that tiny little lens on there it just feels awkward.

I also noticed that my best results in aquarium shooting require an almost 180 degree turn around from how I normally shoot at the zoo. Usually with the big cats I'm moving around quite a bit to get the right shot, and trying to get as close to the glass as I can - with the aquarium I've found it was much better to get a good vantage point further away from the glass and then stay put. Let the fish come to me.

 

[Gary A.]

Much much better set than the first. These look as if you were using a Nikonos.

 

[robbins.photo]

Much much better set than the first. These look as if you were using a Nikonos.

Lol... Thanks Gary. Unfortunately I checked, they have some sort of crazy rule about not diving into the tank with the fish. I tried to explain, hey, I bought a membership.. but ya, no joy there...

 

[Gary A.]

Much much better set than the first. These look as if you were using a Nikonos.

Lol... Thanks Gary. Unfortunately I checked, they have some sort of crazy rule about not diving into the tank with the fish. I tried to explain, hey, I bought a membership.. but ya, no joy there...

That's where you screwed up ... Never check.

 

[robbins.photo]

That's where you screwed up ... Never check.

Lol.. well I actually got into the habit of checking when I discovered I was spending a lot of the money I could be putting towards new lenses on bail...

 

[ZombiesniperJr]

Nice set