[Prev][Next][Index]

Re: Aquatic Photography



>
>From: "Williams, Rochelle - DCSPIM" <williaro at ftmcphsn-emh1_army.mil>
>Subject: Aquatic Photography
>
>Will you "professional" aquatic photographers give a few hints?  For 
>example, why is a short depth of field used when photographing so 
>frequently?  This causes part of the photo to be out of focus.   Take a 
>look at Amano's pictures where he photographs the length of the tank - 
>everything is in focus except maybe a darting fish.  My guess is he uses a 
>long depth of field and longer exposure times.  The recent palaudarium
 
I'm not "professional", but I'll take a crack at it.  My guess is that Amano
didn't use longer exposure times, just more light. In my experience, it's
hard to shoot aquarium subjects with exposures longer than 1/15 sec. Also,
were his shots wide-angled?  A wide angle also increases depth of field.
When you mention the photos you saw with short DOF, were they closeups of
some fish?  It could be intentional (to de-emphasize the background), or it
could be due to longer focal lenghts used to zoom up on the subjects, or the
photographer may be limited to smaller f-stops (larger lens opening) due to
lack of adequate light (using natural light).

> What kind of lenses are used, filters, film speed, etc, for the folks who 
>are successful?

Normal lens (50mm), no filter, ASA 100 or 200--nothing special.  I use the
aquarium's light (no flash) and find light temperature of ~6200K gives
pleasant colors.  If you use print film, the printer can do a lot in
adjusting the color tint.  Use a good photo shop, or you may have to go back
several times.

Hoa


********************************************************
                     Hoa G. Nguyen  
NRaD Code D371                   Email: nguyenh at nosc_mil 
San Diego, CA 92152-7383         Ham:   KF6YP
                       Aquarium: 
  http://www.nosc.mil/robots/people/images/nguyenht.jpg
********************************************************