My Rainbows

[rainbowfish]

Thanks for comments, Pals.
Yes, RazorBlade, my next target is definitely a neat flash setup…
I’m thinking about Speedlite 580 EX or 430 EX…is it a big difference about quality between them :question:
Or someone will recommend me something better… :question:


Now I want to share next photos of my Rainbows – Glossolepis Incisus
Maybe You will curious to see the difference between some of my best shots of these fishes with CANON 350D Kit lens (the first 5 photos)
And my last shots with Canon 50 mm/f2.5 Macro (the last 7 photos)

Great shots on all of them. I'm a little confused by the comments above though, I thought you were using flash on these shots and figured it would be with a 580 EX flash. So how about telling us how you took them then. What ISO # were you using, F-stop and certainly shutter speed. Rainbowfish can make cichlids look like they are dead when it comes to how fast they move. Even at ISO 1600 I would think that it would be very difficult to get enough light and a fast enough shutter speed to also get the nice depth of field that you have. Are you using photo floodlights on the tank too or do you just have a lot of lights on the tank? How much light on the tank? Are these pictures coming out way underexposed and then you are getting that exposure corrected in PhotoShop? Whatever combination you are doing it certainly gives ALL of your photos a distinctive look. Please take the time here to spell out exactly how you set things up, tank set up, camera and all please. It is well worth the difficulties to translate to English to teach all of the other wannabes . Also I might add that Hristo starts out almost every photograph with a superior subject, whether it is rainbowfish, goldfish or tetra. Maybe you just have a friend who is the superior fishkeeper if so then my hats off to him. But I think perhaps not and you have given names for all of your fish! I can tell you from going to lots of fish shows in the United States that your fish, based on the photos would not only win their class but also the Best-in-Show award.

A quick comment - You will want the 580 Ex instead of the 430 as it produces a lot more light, even though it costs more. You can also add the ST-2 wireless unit. I'm currently using a 550 EX (similiar to the 580) and am thinking about adding a 430 EX for the light from the front on the tank, using the 550 Ex on top of the tank for the main exposure.

gw

 

[rainbowfish]

oops didn't see that the start of this post was Feb 2006 and not 2007 and didn't realize that it was 6 pages long already! So I saw the part where you are using a flash on top and one from the front of the tank. Where is that flash mounted from the front of the tank? Still above the fish at a 45 degree angle or so to the glass? Are you still shooting in the AV mode or have you switched it to manual? Are you shooting in raw or another one of the Canon settings? I still can't get over how crisp and clear your photos are and I want to reproduce that look in my photos too.

gw

 

[AQUASAUR]

Hi, Gary!
WOW, it was needed a hole weekend for me to reed, translate and try to remember all your questions…
And definitely, I’ll need a loooooong vacation to may be answer of them… :lol:
I don’t know how many threads of mine you made an effort to take a look at…
and try to find some answers of your question…
But you have to start with this one, though:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showthread.php?t=535
Next, if you got a concrete question – please, ask it one by one…not the hole dozen!
Actually, you find the right place here and all of the answers of questions like yours
can be finding somewhere in this forums sections… :exclaim:
Sorry, but I really consider, that I can never be explain all these stuffs about Aquatic photography
(with my bad technical English), better than my APF Teachers here, who had explaining all about…
and I do nothing “special” and different taking pictures, than They recommend about!

 

[AQUASAUR]

OK, Continuing with another two present shots of my Melanotaenia Splendida Splendida:

 

[chubasco]

Great captures as always, Hristo! These are not as colorful as most of your
fish, more muted, subtle, but you caught the iridescence quite well, great
job!:-D

 

[AQUASAUR]

Thanks, Bill !

The next Rainbow specimen is not grow up bigger like more others,
but its jewels body is quite expressive…

Melanotaenia Papuae:

 

[rainbowfish]

Nice papuae. They are more of a challenge than the bigger rainbowfish. BTW I think that the splendida that you posted are probably Melanotaenia splendida inornata, or the checkerboard rainbowfish. Their colors are very subtle and difficult to capture "just right" on film. Again some of the locations are a lot nicer than others too. I thought I would submit a photo of a Melanotaenia splendida splendida that does have a lot of color, from Deepwater Creek. This is the "common rainbowfish" that most of us see through the world that usually sells for about $3-4 US and maybe has a hint of red. Those wholesalers, in their infinite wisdom decided to breed the red out. Unfortunately they've done it with a lot of other rainbowfish too. When you see the originals you realize just how bad the stuff really is. Anyway, this is what a great red splendida should look like and unfortunately rarely does.

cheers,

gw

 

[AQUASAUR]

Thanks, Gary!
Nice shot on this red Splendida too!

Now, I got a fish-pathology question to All of you…
But first, let me share a few presents’ shots of my Glossolepis Incisus
And their attractive playing in the shadows…and those pretty harmony with the Discus fishes:

So, here is one of my handsome males. Since the last month, he had becoming very “fat”,
like his abdomen is pump up with the ear…
There is nothing wrong with his behaviour – eating well, swimming quickly, court the females, spreading fins and dominate over others males…
What do you think about…did anybody have a similar problem?
Could it be some kind of internal infection, which is dangerous for the rest of fish…?

 

[Cuong]

That does look a little nasty Hristo, perhaps you could move him to a quarantine tank just in case. You wouldn't want to risk all those other gorgeous fish!

How sensitive are rainbows to medications? And is he passing any poo? I've had a few tetras go balloon on me before.

I just remembered that some of these rainbows are native to my local catchment and I have seen some of these species in the wild. Next time I'll try and target them and get some photos, that is if the drought doesn't get them first.

 

[Chaitika]

Beautiful series, Hristo!