I have been experimenting with aquarium photography (digital) for a little while now, and wonder if anyone else is doing the same? After looking through the beautiful book, "Focus On Freshwater Aquarium Fish," with its stunning photographs by Geoff Rogers, I became enthralled with capturing my own fish.

There are so many factors involved... especially glare from the glass. I leave the aquarium lights on and darken the room, and I also must use a particular angIe to deflect the flash so it will not glare back. Then there are the resultant stark shadows to deal with, and the occasional smear or water spot on the glass itself. The subjects themselves are also tricky... always moving and twisting and turning about! It is a challenge but can be rewarding when the right moment is captured.

I have been using my little Canon Powershot A300 (3.2 megapixels), usually set on macro for close portraiture of my pet fish and crayfish, and I have gotten perhaps a score of decent photos. That is, about 20 out of hundreds and hundreds of attempts! Thus far, I only have one posted here, "Lipstick the Goldfish." There were a few shortcomings with this particular camera. It was very VERY slow to actually take the photo... the camera seemed to be "thinking" forever, and I would often get only a tail or empty water as a result of its hesitation. Too many times I have pushed the button at the perfect moment only to mutter, "Come on already! Take! Take the picture!" as it waited and hesitated. Of course, the "perfect moment" was almost always missed on these frustrating occasions. Also, the camera only worked well for the aquarium when set on macro, so the fish that linger in the back of the tank would not be represented in my photos. The macro setting on this little camera is superb and can work very closely, but for shy fish... you see the problem.

Just recently, I got a Canon Digital Rebel (6.3 mp), and it has brought another dimension to the fish photography. Now, instead of using macro, I can use the lens to zoom in close to a subject and then can also crop it as needed, because the higher resolution allows me to keep only the small part of the subject I need. This allows me to get shots of the more timid fish and crays that stay away from the front glass. The depth of field is also quite different, giving a nice "blurred" look to the background instead of the stark jumble of plants and decor behind the fish, like the rather cluttered background of the aforementioned example, "Lipstick." I like the soft background of my more recent photos... some of which I will post here when time allows. Although I still feel loyal to my older camera, this new one is impressing me, especially with its lightning-fast speed. What a contrast that is!

I did not see many photos of fish in home aquariums on this site, although mayhap I am overlooking them or not entering the proper keywords. I also could not find a single photo of a crayfish (crawdad). Surely I am not the only one?!?

If there are others with tips and suggestions, please post your comments here!

With many thanks,
Shawna

One tip you might not care about now that you have a new camera would be for your old one. To make it take a picture faster try focusing by holding down the shutter half way and then finding the right shot while holding it down. When it comes press the rest of the way and it should take it much quicker as it doesn't have to meter(which could have been tricky through the glass) and it doesn't need to focus. Of course you need to try and focus on something before that will be about the same distance and the same exposure or the picture wont look very good.

Ive never tried this but apparently one of the best ways to do this is to have the lens pressed as close to the glass as possible - preferably with a lens hood and to use a polariser to cancel out reflections in the glass.

I was just trying this yesterday and noticed how difficult it would be right away. My first problem was that I didn't have enough light and all the exposures came out with orange blurs darting around in the water. If your camera has much of a delay then the only way you might be able to get a few good shots would be to move a little farther away and just snap at random. Then you can later go through the photos and pick and/or crop as needed.

You could try making a small tent over the tank and yourself using a black piece of plastic or blanket etc. That would eliminate reflections for the most part. You could place some extra lighting at the sides of the tank for illumination. Blacklighting might provide some wow factor;-)

i used to do this back when i had an aquarium... you can go to www.fishinthe.net and there is a section for photography on there they will help you out

Thanks for the offered suggestions and comments here. I still have much experimenting to do, and I will try some of the options mentioned here.

I have posted another attempt here: http://www.caedes.net/Zephir.cgi?lib=Caedes::Infopage&image=yodergoat-1124078040.jpg Of course, that isn't a clickable link. One can also see it by doing a wallpaper search for "Kribensis Cichlid."

It is indeed a contrast from the shots taken with the smaller camera I used before, because the background is completely blurred. I prefer it, myself. My new camera certainly warrants some more attempts.

If I get some interesting results from experimentation, I will post them here.

Thanks,
Shawna

"One can also see it by doing a wallpaper search for "Kribensis Cichlid." "

...or just click on the username on the left, and then on the gallery icon.

Samatar pointed out:
"...or just click on the username on the left, and then on the gallery icon."

Yeah, that would have been a much easier suggestion!! Being so new to the forum, I oftentimes forget its features.

-Shawna

I have a few fish tanks and I have tons of pix of my fish, plants and tanks all together, but I am still in a proces of learning. Here is My Fish Tanks Gallery" in case anyone is curious to take a look.. nothing impressive mind you... LOL