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African Cichlids from new E-10

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Robert Carpenter

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Here is my first picture post to this forum from my African Cichlid aquarium taken with my new E-10. All pictures taken with available aquarium light at ISO 320 - Shutter Priority mode.

Feedback is appreciated.





--Enjoy!
Robert
 
Hi, Robert:

Nice shots!!!

I've had an E-10 for several months. I have aquariums (turtles and fish and such), and take pictures from them. I've learned a few things you may or may not find useful, given that I generally use the auto ISO (which always seems to be 80).

1.) The E-10 likes to use wide-open apertures like f2. This gives narrow depth of field. I'm one of those photo heretics that likes maximum DOF in every picture I've ever taken regardless of subject or purpose. Everything sharp! Every time! DOF also diminishes as you increase zoom. So I generally use Aperture priority mode and set the aperture to about 5.6. This way my shots have adequate DOF.

2.) For chasing turtles in the tank, I love me tripod and cable release; one of the few times I use the LCD display as a viewfinder. The E-10 isn't a sports camera and getting good shots requires a lot of trial and error for me. So rather than hurt my back bending down tracking them, or taking too few shots to choose from due to discomfort, I settle in comfortably, sit back with the cable release in hand, and watch the viewfinder.

3.) Always shoot aquarium glass at an angle to reduce the chance of glare if you use flash.

4.) For large public aquariums like the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, TN, I love my FL-40 flash!

Richard.
 
Robert Carpenter said:
Here is my first picture post to this forum from my African Cichlid
aquarium taken with my new E-10. All pictures taken with available
aquarium light at ISO 320 - Shutter Priority mode.

Feedback is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Robert - Here's some feedback.. South American (amazon especially) Cichlids are much more colourful and not nearly as viscious :) And salt water fish while more difficult to maintain (read keep alive) can be the most colourful of all..

I used to raise tropical fish for profit.. Oscars and Angelfish were my bread and butter, but I had separate 250 gallon tanks set up for my Black Arawana (about one meter long) and Synidonas cat fish (I know the spelling is wrong, it's been a while) and a 200 gallon tank for my Asian Arawana (also about one meter long) and collection of eels..

I would greatly enjoy taking pictures of them, especially the moment one of the arawana's would open their huge trapdoor mouths to scoop up it's dinner (live of course, and when they're that large the possibilities are endless) so I'd mount my OM-4ti in an underwater housing with a motor drived on the side of the tank with a jury rigged quartz remote hooked up to the Motor Drive..

You get remarkable pics from INSIDE the tank! Don't make the mistake of setting a sequential timer WITH a flash to take pics at night.. I'm sure it was the flash going off in the dark that was responsible for being woke up in the middle of the night when one of the arawana's crashed through the top of the tank and flopped around on the floor.. It was touch and go if he'd (not really sure of sex, but I called it a he) live or not.. He finally grew so big I donated him to Sea World (I was a marine biology student at the time volunteering at Sea World's shark tank) and he's still there today... Now over six feet long.. Gosh, with a saddle and a bridle I could teach him to carry me up and down the major waterways..

My long and windy point is, taking pictures of fish is an incredible and rewarding experience, however it takes entirely new techniques and equipment to get quality results. Some of my most exciting shots came from INSIDE the shark tank when I was swimming around with them during feeding time in my scuba gear, not only was is exciting taking the pics, but standing in front of the Department dean being reamed a new one was kinda exciting also.. Sometimes I miss it dearly..taking the pics of fish I mean..

Enjoy and let's see some more of your work.. Discis fish are especially beautiful to photograph...

BKKSW
 
Robert Carpenter said:
Here is my first picture post to this forum from my African Cichlid aquarium taken with my new E-10. ... Feedback is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Nice to see your photos. The cichlid in the first one is really fat! Maybe a little more vegetable based diet would be healthy. ;-)

If you want tips on aquarium photography, feel free to visit my website.-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Max Photo - Aquariums & Digital Photography http://hem.bredband.net/maxstr
 
Robert, Good for ye! Nice first pictures here. I must say, your shots at iso 320 are quite free of noise and/or pixelation. I am amazed, because they are slightly underexposed to me and ripe for 320 artifacting, yet, none seen. I would perhaps add a little sharpening to them. Looks like the resizing softened them a bit. Good job, especially @ 320! Regards, Jim N'AZ
Robert Carpenter said:
Here is my first picture post to this forum from my African Cichlid
aquarium taken with my new E-10. All pictures taken with available
aquarium light at ISO 320 - Shutter Priority mode.

Feedback is appreciated.





--
Enjoy!
Robert
Click to expand...
--Jim N'AZ
 
BKKSW said:
I know the spelling is wrong, it's been a while
Click to expand...
Here is a spellcheck for you:
Arowana (not Arawana)
Synodontis Catfish (not Synidonas cat fish)
Discus or Discusfish (not Discis fish)
BKKSW said:
Don't make the mistake of setting a sequential timer WITH a flash to take pics at night..
Click to expand...
Thanks for the warning. I have been thinking about doing this to get some night shots of my night active species, but have been a bit hesitant since I don't want to scare my fishes. I don't have such strong jumping species as your Arowana, but still don't want my fishes to get frightened or disturbed and don't want them to injure themselves.
BKKSW said:
Gosh, with a saddle and a bridle I could teach him to carry me up and down the major waterways..
Click to expand...
He he, that would make a funny photo if shot half air and half underwater. Might be easier to do in photoshop than in real life though. ;-)
BKKSW said:
Some of my most exciting shots came from INSIDE the shark tank when I was swimming around with them during feeding time in my scuba gear... Sometimes I miss it dearly..taking the pics of fish I mean..
Click to expand...
Are you sure that you don't also miss swimming with the sharks at feedingtime aswell as taking pics of fish?
BKKSW said:
Enjoy and let's see some more of your work.. Discis fish are especially beautiful to photograph...
Click to expand...
Yes, discus are very beautiful. Although it's difficult it is still fun to try to capture that beauty on a photo.

Thanks for your fun and descriptive post, I enjoyed reading it.-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Max Photo - Aquariums & Digital Photography http://hem.bredband.net/maxstr
 
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