The Blue Cavern #1 by goodoleboy
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Description
One portion of the beautiful Blue Cavern, captured 5/26/11, in the lobby of the beautiful Aquarium of the Pacific, in beautiful Long Beach, California.
Much better viewed via ZOOM.
Oh dear, just the beginning of lots of fishy stuff on tap here.
Swimming within the Blue Cavern, among others, are Giant Sea Bass, White Seabass, Kelp bass, Ocean Whitefish, California Sheephead, Mexican Lookdown, Cortez Angelfish, Yellow Surgeonfish, Cortez Rainbow Wrasse, and Brown-Banded Bamboo Sharks.
Awesome variety of undersea life in the two-story-high glass fish enclosure on display, but a veritable nightmare for a serious photographer to record because the denizens of the deep are constantly moving around and about, and in a dimly lit milieu. Ergo, to reach a decent balance, gotta play games with the focus and shutter speed because of the constant movement of the fish, and the ISO because it is so dark in the area. I even used my Pentax DSLR to achieve this goal. I must have taken at least 550 fotos on this visit, and just to show how successful this venture was, I've already trashed over 50 of the shots, mostly due to the damn graininess from the 800 ISO, and I've barely begun the task of review and postworking. Inside or outside, either these shots came out pretty good, decent, or just plain lousy.
Oh, in order to add to the travails of the serious photographer, one must also contend with the literally tons/tonnes of chattering, screaming, screeching, and undisciplined imps and urchins, perpetually darting and leaping amok, and jumping in front and/or bumping you when you're about to click the shutter for that once-in-a-lifetime image. Plus, the screaming and shouting of the mothers and teachers, trying to rein in their little darlings, doesn't help much either.
Andrea would have loved it.
Despite all this, when I eventually return to this beautiful aquarium, I'll bring my cool Canon PowerShot SX20 point-and-shoot camera with its SCN aquarium setting, my experience under duress, and earplugs.
Toodles, thankx for popping in, and for any and all favs and complimentary comments.
Comments (12)
magnus073
Really some fascinating pics in this collage Harry, nice work on capturing them so well despite all the movement
Bossie_Boots
Wicked i look forward to it i love this type of thing superb captures they look amazing i have coy carp in my pond at home !!
MrsRatbag
Very well captured, especially considering all the hazards/inherent problems with this type of photography. I discovered that fish are NOT very cooperative when they see a camera, unfortunately! I don't know if it's true, but I'm told that using a polarizer helps with shooting through glass. I do know that using flash is a no-no. A tripod would be ideal if someone could corral the rugrats!
myrrhluz
There is a sound that strikes horror in a photographers heart. A teachers voice and the shrieking of those little dears. With a single child and parents, there is a chance. Maybe you'll catch the wonder on a child's face, the joy of sharing coming from the parent. Add a sibling, and you're more likely to capture fighting and weariness. Make it a class and all bets are off. Beautiful captures, Harry. Lovely light. In the first one, I love the curve of the uppermost fish, and the way the two under him seem to be lined up in formation. I like the shark in the second one and the light coming down. I think the forth is my favorite. Lovely composition, shapes of the fish, and light coming down. Great shots!
morningglory
Totally awesome images here, Harry. Glad to hear there will be more.
jocko500
i put my ISO up to 3200 to get the boxers and there is little gain in them. All thought i have taken shots in the past that the gain would show up bad so I know what you going thought. i just luck out on the boxers lol
durleybeachbum
Been there, done that, got the sweatshirt...although not in California. And if any of my school parties caused offence we aborted the outing. Your narrative took me right into the scene. Great shots, especially in the circumstance!
Feliciti
looks wonderful !! like all of this and the lightning too !much better this Fishs swimming in his natural element ;-)
tizjezzme
Excellent shots here harry. Very cool!
bmac62
Something is fishy here Harry. Oh, wait a minute...it is supposed to be:) Fully understand the circumstances. But on the whole...excellent results. Particularly like the lighting. It conveys a sense of the depth and breadth of the tanks.
tennesseecowgirl
Beautiful captures. Long Beach huh, did you make it over to the Queen Mary, I was there years ago and we toured the ship. Did you get any pictures of the Queen? :)
danapommet
I've been sick for 4 days Harry and was delighted to come back to this collage. Great shots and POV. The screaming kids can be a bit much in an enclosed place like this. Dana