Took an 8 day vacation with the family, visited Baltimore, Annapolis, Gettysburg and Hershey. Here are a few from the trip.

7 Foot Knoll Lighthouse in Baltimore.




Jellyfish at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, lens used was A50mm f/2.


Fort McHenry


Stonewall Jackson - Gettysburg


Red-Tailed Hawk from ZooAmerica in Hershey PA


The Wedding Cake in Indian Echo Caverns near Hershey PA

[K McCall]

You've definitely got some keepers there, but that jellyfish shot is superb!

[Scottnorwo]

Some great shots there. Looks like a successful vacation for you

[Kerrowdown]

Another vote for the jelly, print it large and get it on the wall.

[MRRiley]

ISO200 on the jelly (thank goodness for EXIF)? WOW!!! Well I can see that I really have to break down and go to the aquarium in Baltimore. Their lighting is much much MUCH better than that at the TN Aquarium in Chattanooga. (which I visted last week and had to shoot at ISO1600 ).

Nice shots all around.

Mike

[Ash]

Go the jellyfish!
Brilliant capture.
Well done with it - looks like you had a great time.

[madmikess]

You've definitely got some keepers there, but that jellyfish shot is superb!

Thank you, I had high hopes for some good jellyfish shots when we went to the Aquarium, I'm happy they turned out.

Some great shots there. Looks like a successful vacation for you

Well, it was a good vacation, but it definitely had to end, the kids were driving us nuts.

Another vote for the jelly, print it large and get it on the wall.

I might just do that!

Thank you all for the kind words.

[madmikess]

ISO200 on the jelly (thank goodness for EXIF)? WOW!!! Well I can see that I really have to break down and go to the aquarium in Baltimore. Their lighting is much much MUCH better than that at the TN Aquarium in Chattanooga. (which I visted last week and had to shoot at ISO1600 ).

Nice shots all around.

Mike

I think using the 50mm f/2 lens helped with the jellyfish shots, I was more worried about not getting them in focus since it's a manual lens.

Go the jellyfish!
Brilliant capture.
Well done with it - looks like you had a great time.

Thank you, we did have a good time and got to see a lot of the sights all around, probably one of our busiest trips as far as places seen.

[MRRiley]

I think using the 50mm f/2 lens helped with the jellyfish shots, I was more worried about not getting them in focus since it's a manual lens.

I was using my SMC-A 50mm 1.7 and still had to shoot at ISO1600. Maybe someone at the TN Aquarium just forgot to turn on the lights. I already posted one Jelly HERE. I do have some more shots to post when my internet comes back up at home (went out yesterday evening).

Mike

[madmikess]

I was using my SMC-A 50mm 1.7 and still had to shoot at ISO1600. Maybe someone at the TN Aquarium just forgot to turn on the lights. I already posted one Jelly HERE. I do have some more shots to post when my internet comes back up at home (went out yesterday evening).

Mike

Maybe it was that dark background that contributed. The blue background certainly makes it a lot brighter. The whole area where they have the jellyfish at the National Aquarium has very low lighting to almost dark lighting, with the exception of the displays that had their own lighting. I'm going to guess that that black background is the reason. Your picture did turn out really well though, in my opinion. I went back and looked at the exif, I'm not exactly the expert on photography, but I did notice you went with shutter priority on that shot which put your aperture at 2.8. I was using aperture priority to use the largest aperture available with my lens and I let the camera choose the ISO. I ended up with the same shutter speed as you set as well. I dunno I'm still going to guess it had to do with that much darker background.

[MRRiley]

Maybe it was that dark background that contributed. The blue background certainly makes it a lot brighter. The whole area where they have the jellyfish at the National Aquarium has very low lighting to almost dark lighting, with the exception of the displays that had their own lighting. I'm going to guess that that black background is the reason. Your picture did turn out really well though, in my opinion. I went back and looked at the exif, I'm not exactly the expert on photography, but I did notice you went with shutter priority on that shot which put your aperture at 2.8. I was using aperture priority to use the largest aperture available with my lens and I let the camera choose the ISO. I ended up with the same shutter speed as you set as well. I dunno I'm still going to guess it had to do with that much darker background.

I agree completely. The dark background definately hurt. I have one shot in a tank somewhat similar to the one in Baltimore that I will post this evening. As for the exposure mode, I should have tried Av but I've always been more of a Tv guy. LOL When I go up to Baltimore I will give Av a try. I also suspect that the jelly in your shot was a bit farther away than mine was. Mine was maybe 8 inches from my lens while yours appears to have been a bit farther away, thus granting you deeper DOF even at the larger aperture. Lots to think about when you are shooting these things and you thought yours out beautifully!!!

Thanks again,

Mike

[Sailor]

Very enjoyable series. Looks like you had a terrific vacation.

Jer