Project365 - all Prime, All the Time !

Introduction

Pat cleaned out the fish tank (aka Freddie & Mercury's home) today. The water is crystal clear, and I wanted to re-visit shooting the guys. The first attempt was pretty good, but there was a lot of crud floating about in the water. I have also been reading a lot of discussion forums where the "Pros" talk about only shooting with prime lenses. Prime lenses have no zoom capabilities - when describing lenses, they give a range 24-105mm for example. A prime lens only has one number, like my 40mm lens.

The Setup

Camera - my Canon 60D, lens - the "Shorty McForty" a Canon 40mm f/2.8, flash - Canon 430EX II, trigger - Cactus v5

The flash is off-camera, so I can move around without moving the light. Which is important, because with a prime lens, you zoom with your feet !

The Photos

While this photo is slightly over-exposed, it shows how translucent Mercury's body really is. You can clearly make out the veins in his arms & legs !

 

 

Here, the strobe is indirect, so Freddie's head is in shadow. But the detail of his scales & fins is remarkable !

 

 

 

 

Lessons Learned

I keep forgetting that my prime has a nice wide Aperture of f/2.8 ! It is a very bright lens, allowing lots of light onto the sensor. I must remember to shoot with it more, as I get nice crisp photos with it.

 

Project365 - Freddie & Mercury

Introduction

I saw some works of a fellow who had taken some stunning images of Betta fish (sometimes called a Siamese Fighting Fish). Since we have a Betta and a Dwarf African Frog (Freddie & Mercury), I though I would see what I could come up with.

 

The Setup

Camera - Canon 60D, Lens - Canon 24-105mm f/4 L series, Flash - Canon 430EX II, Transmitter - Cactus V5

The shoot had a coupe of challenges. First the fish tank is a tall cylinder of glass, so the light bends tremendously ! Second, the glass is highly polished, making it very reflective, so I had to be careful with where I could place the remote flash.

The Photos

The tank, bathed in reflected light from behind. Freddie is foraging for food at the bottom of the tank.

Mercury lazing at the bottom of the tank. I'm quite sure he didn't know what to make of the flash.

While Freddie is facing away from the camera, I'm impressed by the detail in the tail fins.

 

Freddie, seen from above. His scales are luminous in the light !

Lessons Learned

The challenge with this shoot was in the lighting. I couldn't place the flash too far to one side or the other, as it would simply refract into the camera lens. Also, the subject do NOT take instruction well, so it became an exercise in patience. The bonus idea was to feed them, which made them a little more animated.