Back from Atlanta Aquarium, what I have learned

Buddha Jones · 03-31-2008, 06:10 PM

Well I am back form the big fishbowl, my first adventure into fish photography, and I would like to take a moment to share with you all that I have learned from this trip. I have taken loads of advice from many of you on this forum and have tried to take what you gave me and apply it with what I had to work with, equipment and skill, and some inginuity (my oversized lens hood) and put it all to good use.

Well I have had time to look over my photos and reflect on the experience. Here is what I took away from it all.

1. A flash is very handy, just make sure you have plenty of power for them. I wasn't out of the first exibit before my first flash died. I brought three to Atlanta, but only one to the Aquarium.
2. While my oversized lens hood was a great idea, it was flawed in that getting right up to the glass isnt always an option because if the tank was shallow, and you were not using a macro, you were pretty much screwed... which leads to my next point
3. Use a polarizing filter! I knew I needed one, just never got the oppty to make the trip to get one. The hood only works if you can get up to the glass.
4. I suck at panning
5. Anything slower than f/5.6 w/o a flash is a real PITA. I dont think I will go back unless I have some fast glass. Even though I had the Tammy 70-300mm, I ended up using the 24-75mm because it was f/2.8. (I took those instead of the DA*'s because they have macro focus and the DA*'s don't)
6. Wear comfortabe shoes, that place is HUGE!!!

I will post the decent shots later. Of the 275 that I took, only 18 are worth a crap, and prolly ony 5 of those are worth printing/posting. I have gone through PPing most of them, some heavy, some not but I will post them none the less.

All in all, it was a great trip, spent some time with my best friend and learned a lot about photography in the process. That's what its all about!

christinelandon · 04-01-2008, 01:20 AM

Thanks for reporting back, Buddha! Your experience sounds familiar...especially the ratio of keepers! I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in late September, and shot about 230. Liked about 20, but only found four that I thought deserved printing. It's a challenge, for sure!

**mike.hiran** · 04-01-2008, 02:58 AM

interesting tidbits... I'm thinking of stopping by the baltimore aqaurium on my upcoming trip to DC so these insights will be helpful. Thanks for posting!

cardinal43 · 04-01-2008, 03:29 AM

@Vagrant10:

If you're planning on stopping by the Baltimore Aquarium, you should plan on spending the better part of a day there -- it's big.

Buddha Jones · 04-01-2008, 09:51 AM

They are up..
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/24173-atlanta-aquarium-5...tml#post209799

TaoMaas · 04-01-2008, 10:17 AM

A polarizing filter is only going to work if those reflections on the front of the tank are coming from natural light. If it's fluorescents or something, you're out of luck. Also, be careful when using a flash.

I was shooting at a large aquarium at our zoo and was keeping my eye to the viewfinder, zapping anything that came in front of my lens. I noticed that fewer and fewer fish were coming by so I stopped and looked up to see if I had scared them to the opposite side of the tank or something. To my horror, many of the fish were on their sides, circling near the top of the tank!!!! It scared the crap out of me because I thought I'd killed several thousand dollars worth of exotic fish!

As it turned out, I guess the repeated bursts from my flash had just disoriented them because they all returned to normal within a minute or two.

**mike.hiran** · 04-01-2008, 08:55 PM

taomaas: that story has me laughing every time I think of what your face must have looked like... too bad you didn't get a pic of yourself at that point

but I'll take your lesson to heart and try not to pick on any one fish too many times.

buddha: saw your pics.... very nice stuff! and thank you very much for your posting your lessons learned. I never would have thought to take a flash with me thinking the glare would be too bad to be of any use... just curious though; what focal length did you think was the most useful? I have a 50mm macro and a 100 macro...what would you suggest?

vizjerei · 04-02-2008, 07:27 AM

They let you use flash in an Aquarium?!

I went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Flash is not allowed

which I also afraid to scare of the fishes.

I want to add a tip tho, Bring a monopod!! since they usually don't allow tripod. :ugh:

**barondla** · 04-02-2008, 09:32 AM

nice shots Buddah Jones. Great exposure and color. Shooting thru glass is always tricky. Have done it at St. Louis zoo. They allow flash. Some tips.

1. Try to get flash off camera with cord. Really cuts down on reflections.
2. Do use a big rubber hood against glass if possible.
3. Macro lenses work well as do wide angles. Love using the 10-17 FE.

Years ago a few of us went to the zoo to shoot. We were doing indoor flash of fish and reptiles. None of the critters seemed to mind the flash. There is this important looking display with an endangered Gecko in it. Friend fires up the Pentax LX and strobe. The darn lizard jumped straight up in the air about a foot! Scared the heck out of us. Thought we had killed the thing. It was fine but we left quickly.

No other reptile reacted to flash that day.
thanks
barondla

navcom · 04-02-2008, 09:57 AM

Originally posted by TaoMaas

A polarizing filter is only going to work if those reflections on the front of the tank are coming from natural light. If it's fluorescents or something, you're out of luck. Also, be careful when using a flash.

I was shooting at a large aquarium at our zoo and was keeping my eye to the viewfinder, zapping anything that came in front of my lens. I noticed that fewer and fewer fish were coming by so I stopped and looked up to see if I had scared them to the opposite side of the tank or something. To my horror, many of the fish were on their sides, circling near the top of the tank!!!! It scared the crap out of me because I thought I'd killed several thousand dollars worth of exotic fish!

As it turned out, I guess the repeated bursts from my flash had just disoriented them because they all returned to normal within a minute or two.

LOL!!!

...I still have tears in my eyes!

Buddha Jones · 04-02-2008, 12:09 PM

TAO!!! That was an awesome read... too damn funny.

Thanks for all the responses, sorry it took so long for me to get back in here. I brought in the AF360 flash and I was controlling it wirelessly with the Cactus VS2 setup. I had one of my friends hold it off to the side, and I had it running at 1/4 power and with a Stofen Diffuser on it so it wouldnt be such a distraction and produce big glare spots.

As for the focal length's I'd have to say somewhere in the ~200mmm range was great for me when I was using the 70-300mm in macro mode with the big rubber hood right up on the glass, if only it was IF and IZ it would of been money. When I had the 28-75mm, 75mm was what I used, with it being IF it was really great, but the big rubber hood did not fit it properly. If Pentax ever came out with a DA* 200mm macro, that would be the lens of choice IMO.

I don't know what the close focussing distance of the non macro version is, but if it can get close with a set of extension tubes, that would be nice as well.

TaoMaas · 04-02-2008, 01:13 PM

Originally posted by Buddha Jones

TAO!!! That was an awesome read... too damn funny.

Oh sure....it's funny NOW!

Back then...eh, not so much. The only redeeming thing was that nobody else was in the aquarium to see my embarrassment. I used to go out to our zoo during the absolute worst weather I could find, like thunderstorms or heavy snows, just so I'd know there wouldn't be any crowds and that was one of those days. Believe it or not, most zoos are open regardless of the weather. I'd bag up all my gear, cover myself with a large poncho, and trudge on in. Then I'd spend the day shooting at all the indoor facilities like the aviaries, herpatarium, or the aquarium.

03-31-2008, 06:10 PM	#1
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587	Back from Atlanta Aquarium, what I have learned Well I am back form the big fishbowl, my first adventure into fish photography, and I would like to take a moment to share with you all that I have learned from this trip. I have taken loads of advice from many of you on this forum and have tried to take what you gave me and apply it with what I had to work with, equipment and skill, and some inginuity (my oversized lens hood) and put it all to good use. Well I have had time to look over my photos and reflect on the experience. Here is what I took away from it all. 1. A flash is very handy, just make sure you have plenty of power for them. I wasn't out of the first exibit before my first flash died. I brought three to Atlanta, but only one to the Aquarium. 2. While my oversized lens hood was a great idea, it was flawed in that getting right up to the glass isnt always an option because if the tank was shallow, and you were not using a macro, you were pretty much screwed... which leads to my next point 3. Use a polarizing filter! I knew I needed one, just never got the oppty to make the trip to get one. The hood only works if you can get up to the glass. 4. I suck at panning 5. Anything slower than f/5.6 w/o a flash is a real PITA. I dont think I will go back unless I have some fast glass. Even though I had the Tammy 70-300mm, I ended up using the 24-75mm because it was f/2.8. (I took those instead of the DA's because they have macro focus and the DA's don't) 6. Wear comfortabe shoes, that place is HUGE!!! I will post the decent shots later. Of the 275 that I took, only 18 are worth a crap, and prolly ony 5 of those are worth printing/posting. I have gone through PPing most of them, some heavy, some not but I will post them none the less. All in all, it was a great trip, spent some time with my best friend and learned a lot about photography in the process. That's what its all about!

04-02-2008, 07:27 AM	#8
vizjerei Veteran Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,418	They let you use flash in an Aquarium?! I went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Flash is not allowed which I also afraid to scare of the fishes. I want to add a tip tho, Bring a monopod!! since they usually don't allow tripod. :ugh: Last edited by vizjerei; 04-02-2008 at 07:33 AM.

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04-01-2008, 01:20 AM	#2
christinelandon Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Seattle, Washington, USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 812	Thanks for reporting back, Buddha! Your experience sounds familiar...especially the ratio of keepers! I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in late September, and shot about 230. Liked about 20, but only found four that I thought deserved printing. It's a challenge, for sure!

04-01-2008, 02:58 AM	#3
mike.hiran Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Location: portland Photos: Albums Posts: 1,491	interesting tidbits... I'm thinking of stopping by the baltimore aqaurium on my upcoming trip to DC so these insights will be helpful. Thanks for posting!

04-01-2008, 03:29 AM	#4
cardinal43 Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,412	@Vagrant10: If you're planning on stopping by the Baltimore Aquarium, you should plan on spending the better part of a day there -- it's big.

04-01-2008, 09:51 AM	#5
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587 Original Poster	They are up.. https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/24173-atlanta-aquarium-5...tml#post209799

04-01-2008, 10:17 AM	#6
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	A polarizing filter is only going to work if those reflections on the front of the tank are coming from natural light. If it's fluorescents or something, you're out of luck. Also, be careful when using a flash. I was shooting at a large aquarium at our zoo and was keeping my eye to the viewfinder, zapping anything that came in front of my lens. I noticed that fewer and fewer fish were coming by so I stopped and looked up to see if I had scared them to the opposite side of the tank or something. To my horror, many of the fish were on their sides, circling near the top of the tank!!!! It scared the crap out of me because I thought I'd killed several thousand dollars worth of exotic fish! As it turned out, I guess the repeated bursts from my flash had just disoriented them because they all returned to normal within a minute or two.

04-01-2008, 08:55 PM	#7
mike.hiran Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Location: portland Photos: Albums Posts: 1,491	taomaas: that story has me laughing every time I think of what your face must have looked like... too bad you didn't get a pic of yourself at that point but I'll take your lesson to heart and try not to pick on any one fish too many times. buddha: saw your pics.... very nice stuff! and thank you very much for your posting your lessons learned. I never would have thought to take a flash with me thinking the glare would be too bad to be of any use... just curious though; what focal length did you think was the most useful? I have a 50mm macro and a 100 macro...what would you suggest?

04-02-2008, 09:32 AM	#9
barondla Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: midwest, United States Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,714	nice shots Buddah Jones. Great exposure and color. Shooting thru glass is always tricky. Have done it at St. Louis zoo. They allow flash. Some tips. 1. Try to get flash off camera with cord. Really cuts down on reflections. 2. Do use a big rubber hood against glass if possible. 3. Macro lenses work well as do wide angles. Love using the 10-17 FE. Years ago a few of us went to the zoo to shoot. We were doing indoor flash of fish and reptiles. None of the critters seemed to mind the flash. There is this important looking display with an endangered Gecko in it. Friend fires up the Pentax LX and strobe. The darn lizard jumped straight up in the air about a foot! Scared the heck out of us. Thought we had killed the thing. It was fine but we left quickly. No other reptile reacted to flash that day. thanks barondla

04-02-2008, 09:57 AM	#10
navcom Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Minnesota USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 807	Originally posted by TaoMaas A polarizing filter is only going to work if those reflections on the front of the tank are coming from natural light. If it's fluorescents or something, you're out of luck. Also, be careful when using a flash. I was shooting at a large aquarium at our zoo and was keeping my eye to the viewfinder, zapping anything that came in front of my lens. I noticed that fewer and fewer fish were coming by so I stopped and looked up to see if I had scared them to the opposite side of the tank or something. To my horror, many of the fish were on their sides, circling near the top of the tank!!!! It scared the crap out of me because I thought I'd killed several thousand dollars worth of exotic fish! As it turned out, I guess the repeated bursts from my flash had just disoriented them because they all returned to normal within a minute or two. LOL!!! ...I still have tears in my eyes!

04-02-2008, 12:09 PM	#11
Buddha Jones Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,587 Original Poster	TAO!!! That was an awesome read... too damn funny. Thanks for all the responses, sorry it took so long for me to get back in here. I brought in the AF360 flash and I was controlling it wirelessly with the Cactus VS2 setup. I had one of my friends hold it off to the side, and I had it running at 1/4 power and with a Stofen Diffuser on it so it wouldnt be such a distraction and produce big glare spots. As for the focal length's I'd have to say somewhere in the ~200mmm range was great for me when I was using the 70-300mm in macro mode with the big rubber hood right up on the glass, if only it was IF and IZ it would of been money. When I had the 28-75mm, 75mm was what I used, with it being IF it was really great, but the big rubber hood did not fit it properly. If Pentax ever came out with a DA* 200mm macro, that would be the lens of choice IMO. I don't know what the close focussing distance of the non macro version is, but if it can get close with a set of extension tubes, that would be nice as well.

04-02-2008, 01:13 PM	#12
TaoMaas Pentaxian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Oklahoma City Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,574	Originally posted by Buddha Jones TAO!!! That was an awesome read... too damn funny. Oh sure....it's funny NOW! Back then...eh, not so much. The only redeeming thing was that nobody else was in the aquarium to see my embarrassment. I used to go out to our zoo during the absolute worst weather I could find, like thunderstorms or heavy snows, just so I'd know there wouldn't be any crowds and that was one of those days. Believe it or not, most zoos are open regardless of the weather. I'd bag up all my gear, cover myself with a large poncho, and trudge on in. Then I'd spend the day shooting at all the indoor facilities like the aviaries, herpatarium, or the aquarium.