phish photos - what's the secret

[bekko]

I occasionally break out the blue bowl and camera and try to take photos. This should be like shooting a duck in a barrel, but it's always a disaster. You can sort of tell there's a koi in the photo, but the reflection off the water surface and the blurr from the fish moving makes it useless for evaluation purposes.

Could you folks please provide some helpful hints.

Thanks,
-steve hopkins

[Steve Nguyen]

well, I found that it helps with not too much water in the bowl. water should be filled high enough to cover the doral fins completely but not too high. also, wait until the fish calm down before snap the shoots. I also noticed that reflection of the camera flash cause blurry image so take advantage of sunshine on next few days.

Steve

[koinut]

Hi Bekko,

I was wondering what type of camera you are using? The other thing you can't do without when shooting koi is a polarizing lens or a circular polarizing lens. This will cut out a lot of the glare. Another trick is to use an umbrella right over the bowl to cut out the glare as well. Taking pictures where it's not well lit also does the trick. I would also have to say to have a lot of water in the bowl as to not create any ripples on the surface of the water. You may also want to have a fines net of some sort to remove any of the bubbles on the surface to create a non rippling water picture. Hope some of this helps you.

Rob

[koiczar]

Bekko

I agree with Rob. We both took a lot of shots of fish at the AJKS and we both used "circular' polarizing filters. They work the best and really cut down on the glare. That place was near impossible to get glare-free shots in with all the lighting in that building. If it wasn't for the filters forget about it.

As far as taking pictures of fish in a bowl, it is very difficult. You need a huge amount of patience. Because of the shape of the bowl, the fish constantly swim in circles. If you can, get yourself a rectangular blue/light blue rubbermaid or other brand tub. It's much easier if the fish has a chance to swim straight down the length of the container to get great shots. Also, make yourself a black drape-over pvc "tent" to place the tub into. This eliminates all the glare and the flash will take care of the necessary lighting needs. The pics come out awesome!!

Mike

[dinh]

My camera has "underwater" option shot. It works great even fish moving under 1' below the surface. What type of camera you are using?

--Dinh

[Regenmeneer]

Koi feel uncomfortable when there is not enough water in a bowl. They will have trouble staying upright and try to correct this by whipping their tails. So make sure you have the water level above their dorsal fin.

I use a rectengular type with the measuring tape inside it to take the pictures. On last years Dutch National similar units were sold (albeit not fiberglass but some PE) with a round bottom. This way the lowest part of it will be in the middle, and makes that the koi will end up here naturally. But IMHO rectengular tanks are the best to use.

When taking the picture, make sure you are at an 45 degree angle from the front. This way you get a nice looking picture, and when you can position the tank in front of a dark or evenly colored background, glare will be reduced to a minimum. Also taking pictures inside the garage or when it's dark is a good option. Using a polarizing filter will help a lott.

Regenmeneer

[bekko]

Thanks guys. We have a Minolta Dimage 4 mega-pixel - not the bottom of the price range, but probably close to it. In looking more closely, I see that there are threads for adding a filter. If only they make a polarizing filter to fit. Come to think of it, we may still have a polarizing filter in the bag of old 35 mm stuff. I wonder if you can just hold the 35 mm filter up to the digital camera lens?

I have been trying to put the fish in a 16- or 22-inch bowl pond-side to photograph. Most of these fish are only handled once each year so it takes forever for them to settle down. Most will jump out of the bowl if given a few minutes so I'm always in a hurry to get the shot. Putting them in one of those floating perforated baskets sounds like a better idea.

-steve

[aquitori]

I think you should PM Keokoi...he is probably the most experienced with taking koi pics......

[bekko]

OK, the new polarizing filter arrived today. Now I have to work on an alternative for the blue bowl.

-steve

[mrbradleybradley]

Steve

Awesome photo. Do you have an after shot? Some koi just will not cooperate.

This post made me laugh

Cheers

BB