Hey Oly guys,
It's your founding Moderator back to share some of my favorite fish shots from my time in the Oly fold.
All these shots are from my Oly E-500 using, for the most part, the 45-150mm kit lens. I also used the 14-45mm, but not as much.
On most of the forums I regularly visit I am known as the fish guy, and everyone thinks I have some big secret to shooting fish in aquariums. Honestly, this could not be futher from the truth. Fish photography is pretty much like any other form. The main difference is that you are almost 100% of the time shooting through a pane of glass. The only time that glass is not in the way is if you shoot from the top of the tank, or take the fish out of the tank.
The fact that you are shooting through what is, for all intents, a mirror to your flash means that this is not a point and shoot game. It takes a bit more thought then that. Also, you are more often than not dealing with active, fast, moving subjects. This is hard enough outdoors where you are a ways back from your target, and have all the wide open space you could want to utilize. With fish you have a small inclosed space in which you must shoot up close, and personal with something that could out run you in highheels and a skirt.
Direct flash can get you some great pics, however the best advice that I can give is to get the lights off of your camera and over the tank. I recomend studio strobes or a master/slave flash system that uses either IR, RF, or a flash sync cord to fire the strobes. If you do plan to shoot direct flash the best advice is to shoot at an angle. Shooting straight into the glass will net you a big bright picture of a flash.
As lenses go, well I have never bought a lens to shoot fish with. The point being, you can use just about any lens. It all depends on what you are looking for in way of results. For closer macro shots almost nothing touches a good 50mm prime. For full frame close ups a good 200mm zoom is grate choice. And for tank scenes, I would be looking at a slight wide angle, 28-35mm.
Ok, 'nuff of that. How about some pics?