The Synspilum are breeding again. In this series of photos I used three flash units...all diffused...two on top and one from below. The trick was to get the right setting on all three lights. The light from below is diffused and directly under the breeding area. The other two are in the front on top and another set a little further back pointing down toward the opening of the pot. Here's the pair. You can see the fry inside the pot. One of the things I noticed about this species in particular is that they leave their fry inside the breeding area much longer than some of the other species (Parachromis in particular) Not sure why they do this...but it's a noticeable fact.
You can see how the bottom of the male is illuminated...showing that bright red throat. The female is lit separately making it stand out.
Better shot of the males...lit top and bottom.
You can clearly see how nicely lit the female is in this photo. Her belly show the nice dark breeding colors...as well as her ruby red throat.
Look at the back half of the female. The light below does a great job filling in the bottom. One of the behavior's of this and other cichlids is that in general the female will stay close to the fry while the male patrols the perimeter. One thing I have noticed is that whenever the male gets close to the breeding area the female will make a run at the male nudging him on his side...as if to say, "stay alert".
Occasionally dad trys to check in on the fry:
It's not a kiss on the cheek. occasionally a small nip will be the equivalent of a kick in the ass.
Nice shot of male and female. Note the lighting on the bottom of the fish. It took a while to get the individual setting of the flash units correct. Once I did I was able to get a bunch of photos
Here's the "money shot" showing both male and female as well as the fry mass in the breeding area.
I'm often asked about camera settings. For the most part it's difficult to nail down any one setting. It changes depending on a a bunch of different circumstances. For this last set of photos here's what was used:
Nikon D3
Nikkor 105mm VR lens
ISO was LO3...the equivalent of around 100 ISO. Nikon ISO goes to the low 200 then LO3, LO7, L1 al of the last three are incredibly slow and require a lot of light. I generaly shoot at an ISO of 200. The additional flash units let me go lower.
Flash Units - 3 Nikon SB-800 flash units. Main flash set at +1.3 override, top back flash at +1, bottom flash set at -.7.
I cleared the gravel away from the bottom of the breeding area to enable the flash to illuminate the fish. The male was drawn into the "sweet spot" of the lights simply bu putting my finger up in front of the glass. Once he saw the threat, he would swim past the breeding area...and into the photo.
I shoot at 1/250th of a second at an aperture either f22 or f32. If you are familiar with camera basics you can appreciate how much light was thrown out to enable me to shoot. I did also put a reflector on the far left side to throw some light into the shadows.
Hope this helps.
You can see how the bottom of the male is illuminated...showing that bright red throat. The female is lit separately making it stand out.
Better shot of the males...lit top and bottom.
You can clearly see how nicely lit the female is in this photo. Her belly show the nice dark breeding colors...as well as her ruby red throat.
Look at the back half of the female. The light below does a great job filling in the bottom. One of the behavior's of this and other cichlids is that in general the female will stay close to the fry while the male patrols the perimeter. One thing I have noticed is that whenever the male gets close to the breeding area the female will make a run at the male nudging him on his side...as if to say, "stay alert".
Occasionally dad trys to check in on the fry:
It's not a kiss on the cheek. occasionally a small nip will be the equivalent of a kick in the ass.
Nice shot of male and female. Note the lighting on the bottom of the fish. It took a while to get the individual setting of the flash units correct. Once I did I was able to get a bunch of photos
Here's the "money shot" showing both male and female as well as the fry mass in the breeding area.
I'm often asked about camera settings. For the most part it's difficult to nail down any one setting. It changes depending on a a bunch of different circumstances. For this last set of photos here's what was used:
Nikon D3
Nikkor 105mm VR lens
ISO was LO3...the equivalent of around 100 ISO. Nikon ISO goes to the low 200 then LO3, LO7, L1 al of the last three are incredibly slow and require a lot of light. I generaly shoot at an ISO of 200. The additional flash units let me go lower.
Flash Units - 3 Nikon SB-800 flash units. Main flash set at +1.3 override, top back flash at +1, bottom flash set at -.7.
I cleared the gravel away from the bottom of the breeding area to enable the flash to illuminate the fish. The male was drawn into the "sweet spot" of the lights simply bu putting my finger up in front of the glass. Once he saw the threat, he would swim past the breeding area...and into the photo.
I shoot at 1/250th of a second at an aperture either f22 or f32. If you are familiar with camera basics you can appreciate how much light was thrown out to enable me to shoot. I did also put a reflector on the far left side to throw some light into the shadows.
Hope this helps.
Your photography never cease to amaze me! The pair is absolutely stunning.
