"Reeflections" - Mirror shots of an SPS Aquarium

[tubs]

Hi All,

I wanted to share these pretty neat pics.

Anyways, it's always nice to be able to view SPS from above and here is a unique way to do that - using the surface as a mirror. I've coined this aquarium photogrophy technique as "Reeflections".

A few more to come,

Happy Reefin',

 

[GeorgeWeber]

awesome pictures!

 

[Henry1]

John, really cool!

 

[SPC]

Very, very nice John!
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

That is a very nice technique. I bet you could sell a lot of calendars using those shots!

 

[monkeyboy]

Wow, that's pretty sweet! :idea:

 

[reefland]

impressive pics.

 

[Anonymous]

That is just too cool.

 

[tubs]

Hey thanks everyone.

Here's a couple more:

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[reefland]

Any tips you can give us on what angles work best? The reflection and the corals are in focus which I'd think would be tricky. I see no distortion of the glass/acrylic with the camera at an upward angle.

 

[tubs]

Any tips you can give us on what angles work best? The reflection and the corals are in focus which I'd think would be tricky. I see no distortion of the glass/acrylic with the camera at an upward angle.

Rich,

I think anything more than a 35-40 degree angle you start seeing distortion and that might be less for thicker acrylic although I can't say for sure. I haven't gone as far as thinking about the angle while shooting but more of using the LCD of the digicam as a guide.

And you're right that you should think about what to focus on and the results can amazing. One trick is to set aperture wide open and focus on the highest brightest points in the aquarium and then while locking the focus move the lens over to some focal point in the reflection and shoot. This also helps to alleviate washouts since the highest points usually have the most intense lighting. A good digicam should compensate for that.

Also not every type of aquarium lighting schemes will turn out well. Daylight 6.5K to 10K intense lighting makes for much easier aquarium photography where you don't need any supplemental and usually harsh flashes (unless of course you have a pro setup). It's also hard to photograph aquariums with higher the 10K lighting.

HTH,

 

[jamesw]

Wow, those are awesome!!! I too am amazed that you can get shots like that through your tank glass. I seem to get too much distortion. You are also getting GREAT depth of field considering your low f-stop.

I have tried to get shots like this because every UW photographer knows - "Shoot Up." But the results I have gotten haven't been as good as yours Tubs - even with the Coolpix 5000.

Cheers
James

 

[tubs]

Wow, those are awesome!!! I too am amazed that you can get shots like that through your tank glass. I seem to get too much distortion. You are also getting GREAT depth of field considering your low f-stop.

I have tried to get shots like this because every UW photographer knows - "Shoot Up." But the results I have gotten haven't been as good as yours Tubs - even with the Coolpix 5000.

Cheers
James

Thanks James,

Kudos coming from you is great since you're big in photography. How do you like the CP 5000 as I'd like to get a new camera and I'm still on a very beat up CP 950. I was also thinking about the Canon G2.

Anyhow the intense lighting is definately an important factor since that allows me to use the largest f-number for greatest depth of field and detail at a low shutter speed without the shot looking dark or blurry. I think I'm getting the most out of the camera with these shots with the help of the tank lighting.

 

[jamesw]

Actually I sold my CP5000 Rich. I got a Fuji S2 a couple of weeks ago. I just can't handle the shutter lag inherent in consumer level digital cameras.

I have some pix from my tank taken w/ the S2 at:

www.reefpix.org in the galleries section.

Cheers
James

 

[Marcosreef]

Tubs,
Awesome photos. I love your techinque, I will give it a try. Thanks for sharing your tips.

James,

Your underwater photo's are phenomenal. I enjoy them very much!
I've had pretty good results with my CP995, but am considering getting a Canon D60. I would love to use my EOS lenses from my film SLR and put them to digital use.

Keep up the good work! 8)

Regards, Marco

 

[Anonymous]

wow - those are really amazing! i was confused as to how you did it at first...had to do a double take. lol

 

[Veng68]

Wow, those are awesome!!! I too am amazed that you can get shots like that through your tank glass. I seem to get too much distortion. You are also getting GREAT depth of field considering your low f-stop.

I have tried to get shots like this because every UW photographer knows - "Shoot Up." But the results I have gotten haven't been as good as yours Tubs - even with the Coolpix 5000.

Cheers
James

Thanks James,

Kudos coming from you is great since you're big in photography. How do you like the CP 5000 as I'd like to get a new camera and I'm still on a very beat up CP 950. I was also thinking about the Canon G2.

Anyhow the intense lighting is definately an important factor since that allows me to use the largest f-number for greatest depth of field and detail at a low shutter speed without the shot looking dark or blurry. I think I'm getting the most out of the camera with these shots with the help of the tank lighting.

Check this for pictures taken with a G2......... awesome

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulleti...127d67de8094e561a512876a9a40a&threadid=101826

I'm looking into a Collpix 5700.

Cheers,
Veng68[/url]