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George's Nano

Re: George's Nano Journal - Little Jungle

Woop! :p I've always fancied them, nice fish are they?
 
Re: George's Nano Journal - Little Jungle

George Farmer said:
Great little fish, Thomas. Quite delicate apparently.

Probably best served with some plain pilau rice with a sprinkling of lemon juice then.
 
I managed to get a few shots off this afternoon. I'm quite happy with this so far; I think there's far more potential than the previous layout.

This is my only planted tank running right now, so I'm trying to balance something that's attractive with something that's low maintenance.

I'm considering some moss to dress the wood. TGM have some rarer species so we'll see. Other than let I'm just letting it grow-in nice and slowly.

Just a reminder, this is 25 litres, non-CO2, 8hr photoperiod, 1.5ml TPN+ and 1.5ml of Easycarbo daily, 50% water change every 2 weeks. The filter is built into the rear wall and has a 300lph powerhead.

Substrate is ADA Aqua Soil topped with Seachem Flourite Black Sand.

Hardscape is Unipac Sumatra wood and Petrified Wood with Caribsea Live Sand and pea gravel.

Plants (all Tropica) -

L. arcuata
C. wendtii 'Green'
C. parva
E. parvula


Fish -

Trichopsis pumila
Parosphromenus deissneri


I got these fish mail-order from Wildwoods. All arrived in superb condition, triple bagged with oxygen and heat packs. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly they settled too. Highly recommended!

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George,

I always think you seem to have a unique style of photographing fish or tanks and I love it.

The way in which everything you don't want as the focus of the photo, it seems nice and dark.

Is there anything you do and what F's and ISOs ?

I get the best photos with the rest of the room dark as possible but fancy getting more "photographic" with my photos.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Maybe it could be a feature for PFK as I'm sure loads love taking photos of their fish and tanks?!

Cheers,
Clark
 
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tpumiluscrop.jpg


liqgcrop.jpg


crscrop.jpg


Superman said:
George,

I always think you seem to have a unique style of photographing fish or tanks and I love it.

The way in which everything you don't want as the focus of the photo, it seems nice and dark.

Is there anything you do and what F's and ISOs ?

I get the best photos with the rest of the room dark as possible but fancy getting more "photographic" with my photos.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Maybe it could be a feature for PFK as I'm sure loads love taking photos of their fish and tanks?!

Cheers,
Clark
Thanks, Clark! Comments like that mean a lot, as I'm my own worst critic sometimes.

There are no special tricks or effects with my photos. Just lots of practice! A DSLR is a nice tool too.

Generally I will use a larger aperture (low F/stop i.e. f/1.8 to f/4) for fish or plant close-ups. This limits the depth-of-field so the intended subject remains sharp with stuff in front and behind becoming blurred (this is known as 'bokeh'.)

My top tip for photographing fish is to focus on the eyes. I literally become transfixed on the eyes and ignore everything else except composition. I use manual focus and ensure the composition is framed with more open space in the direction of swimming. The rule of thirds is a great tool here.

I will set the ISO as low as possible to maintain high quality, noiseless images, but with no flash and relying on aquarium lighting, this has to go as high as 1600 sometimes to maintain a shutter speed of 1/100 sec. I find 1/100 sec. about right to capture swimming fish at most focal lengths. Some fish need faster i.e. 1/320 sec. especially if you're closer.

For full-tank shots I will try to use of larger depth-of-field to ensure the entire aquascape is in focus. This means a smaller aperture (higher f/stop i.e. f/8+). You will need a longer shutter speed so capturing the fish can be an issue. This is why the 'pros' use overtank flash etc, so loads of light means low ISO and high f/stop.

I hope all that makes sense and helps you.

Thanks, again.

samc said:
great shots george :D

your nanos all seem to have your own little touch ;)

id like to see some of them rare mosses used in a scape
Thanks! I really need to do a 'scape with moss...
 
Nice photos, stocking and I like the aquascape. :) I would love to see an article on photography in PFK as Clark said, personally it's something I struggle with and even though my aquascapes aren't up to a high standard, it still lets them down. Thanks for the tips anyway!
 
Superman said:
Superman said:
Thanks George.
I think my preview on my bridge camera doesn't show the same as when I take it.
I'll try those techniques next photo time.

Couldn't resist a quick photo session and thanks for the tips!
My preview is a bit out but get the jist of it all now.
Good stuff mate. Practice, then practice some more. There's no excuse with digital...! I took around 20 frames to get these four.

aquaticmaniac said:
Looking great :) It goes without saying, but the photos are stunning as well. Nice little fish too.
Thanks! They are lovely little fish and make a refreshing change to the stereotypical small tetras and rasboras often used. The smaller swimming space suits these fish better too.

rawr said:
Nice photos, stocking and I like the aquascape. :) I would love to see an article on photography in PFK as Clark said, personally it's something I struggle with and even though my aquascapes aren't up to a high standard, it still lets them down. Thanks for the tips anyway!
Thanks, Thomas. I'm glad you approve! :D

I'm not sure if I'm good enough to contribute photography articles to a magazine just yet... Thanks, anyway.

Top tips for a compact camera would be to use a tripod (or makeshift version), self-timer and photograph in dark with tank lights on. Most compact have poor ISO handling so if sticking to 200 or so you'll have a slower shutter speed, hence the need for tripod. The self-timer eliminates camera shake further.

Play with exposure compensation (Ev) and white balance to get best results.

Good luck!
 
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