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Thread: Photo Tank

  1. #1
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    Photo Tank

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    Dear all,

    We all love killies and we sure do luv' those beautiful pics... except that sometimes, what we shoot doesn't quite turn out as expected.

    One of the items that will really really help is a small 'photo tank' and hopefully, this page will help someone.

    If the idea works equally as good for you, post up some pics for us to enjoy too!

    The photo tank page is here.

    Comments and critique is appreciated. Thanks and enjoy!
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    thats a very good version of a photo tank Ronnie. i think my photo tank is slightly smaller. don't use any moss or gravel as a backdrop or an acrylic sheet as a restraining device. my setup is pretty simple, with a styrofoam base and a styrofoam sheet i place behind the tank. whenever i take pics i utilise the macro function on my Nikon Coolpix 3100 with the flash off. using a small PL light as a light source and i switch off all the room lights when i'm taking pics. occasionally i have problems with colour toning when the pic comes out. seems that taking pics at a different angle produces different effects.
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

  3. #3
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    Jian Yang,
    There's a reason why, despite the limitations of the built-in flash, that I choose to stick with it.

    Different light source emits varying range in the color spectrum, ie. different color temperatures, which is what you're observing with the PL light. If it turns out yellow, it's probably a "Warm White" bulb. Blue, if "Cool White".

    Even natural light have varying temps, depending on which time of the day the pics were taken, ie. dawn, mid-day or dusk (from warm to cool color range).

    You can customize the 'white balance' settings for your 'studio sessions', when using PL.

    But until I can afford a fully-spec'ed digital SLR with hot-shoe mounting (so that I can fiddle with off-camera flash), I'll make the best of what I have.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Maybe it is time to setup a "Photography" section in this forum.

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    Hello all,

    I have always found light to be a problem when taking fishy photos. What I do now is put them in a show tank which is about 6x5x5 then take them outside. Sunlight shows the fish off really well. Very nice pics Ronnie.
    Regards
    Tom

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    Hiya Tom, thanks for the thumbs up and it's quite fun now to shoot 'em killies!

    'Outside' for me would usually mean along the corridor but since most of the walls are white, I end up with more reflections than I would care for. Until I can use off-camera flash guns, I'd stick to what little options I have now.

    I'd agree that sunlight will bring out the best in most things, even flowers, but that's the lesser of my gripes... some skittish fishes just lose most of their colors and takes terribly long to settle down.

    PS: I'll be posting a short update later on the Aphy. primigenium Kanda GJS 00/18 and need some advise.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Tom, i think light emitted from a strobe would be sufficient for indoor photography. taking outdoor photography is pretty difficult for me as the walls outside my flat are white, like Ronnie's place. even the sunlight that's supposed to be good for photography can be pretty hard to maintain because of factors like cloud cover and time of day.
    i usually restrict myself to indoor photography using just compact fluorescent lamps and my 3.2MP digi from Nikon. i get pretty good results using the macro function. in fact i just learnt a new trick from my cam which i had actually ignored while reading the user manual!
    Fish.. Simply Irresistable
    Back to Killies... slowly.

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    Hi Ronnie,
    Thank you for sharing your 'cool creation' with us. It looks good but where to get that plexiglass panel?
    I have 3 of the mini tanks but it never occur to me that they are good for picture taking, I use them to keep my fry. Will definitely give it a try and show you guys the pictures. :wink:
    Lily Choo

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    Great article Ronnie! Thanks for sharing.

    I always think that photo tanks are great. I'm currently using a small tank measuring 30 cm X 20 cm X 24 cm as my photo tank. For more challenging small subjects, I'll use a 10 cm X 10 cm X 10 cm photo tank.

    Don't worry about the color balance being off. Most digital cameras or film cameras for the matter have problems with this. Just a simple auto levels in Adobe photoshop will usually address the problem.

    So will we be seeing a lot more pictures of yours soon?

    Cheers,

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by lily
    Hi Ronnie,
    Thank you for sharing your 'cool creation' with us. It looks good but where to get that plexiglass panel?
    Lily, I'm one bugger who finds it difficult to waste things around me... even for scraps that I come across.

    My work place is at a factory building and occasionally, these things are thrown out. Frankly, I can't think of a better way to use them.

    The plexiglass is thin and fairly easy to cut and trim. If you wish, bring down one of those tanks and I'll have a piece custom-fitted for you. Bear in mind that not all tanks are made to ISO precision, which is why a custom job will fit better. Let me know.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

  11. #11
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    Benny, coming from a guy who takes better pics than I do, it's very encouraging!

    Color balance is the least of my worries and it'll never be easy to edit for perfect balance, especially when some killies have all the colors in a rainbow! I'm more inclined to go for sharply focused shots or whatever my cam can deliver in AF mode (there isn't any provision for manual focus!)

    As and when decent shots are presentable, I'll have 'em uploaded with a page. It serve as an excellent reference for forgetful people, like myself.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

  12. #12
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    Dear all,

    Tony and I were having a brief discussion on photo tanks and received these 2 pics from him.

    It's interesting to see how Tony has rigged his up and the results are impressive.

    I've his expressed permission to upload the pics but I'd rather let Tony provide more details on how he shoots 'em killies.



    [clickable images]

    Enjoy! :wink:

    [Image links edited Sep 11th 2004]
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

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    Thanks to Ron for posting the pictures. my photo tank measures approx. 25 cm long, 22cm high, and 4cm deep, it is 3 sided, there is no front glass. The piture shows it resting on two small clay flowerposts so that the top of the tank is above th e10 gallon tank that it sits in. The front glass of the tank is the front of the photo tank, so there is no double glass, natural granve on the bottom of the photo tank help kill reflections and acts in some cases as a fill for shadows.

    The 10 gallon tgtank is fully planted with live plants which I change to vary the backrgound. The important thing is the distance between the plants and the fish in a photo tank. The plants are far enough away, and in plenty of water so the flash is diffused to provide a soft background where the plants contribute to the image and do not distract from the fish.

    I use nothing but macro lenses and with kilies it is either a 100 or 200 mm macro. Everythign is single lense reflex, and is shot in the setup as shown when I have a choice. When working in my fish room, I will place a fish or two in the tank, and go about the business of changing water, feeding etc. If the fish seems to adjust then I will sit and try to take a photo.................. In 35 years of shooting fishes, I have taken very few photos, I have a lot of pictures and a ton of rejected images. The most important suggestions I could offer is patiences and being critical of your work, and remembering that the image is in the lens . Use the best lens you can afford.

    The image is just to show how nice and soft a background can be not to distract from an image.........................


    Tony

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    I'm no Tony Teiceira but I like to share with you all how I take my fish pictures. I use a photo tank, something like the one Ronnie is using. I spray-painted the tank black on all sides except the front. When taking pictures, I position a reading light above the tank. I will usually put in some plants like Hornwort as some green in the picture makes the fish stand out better.

    Here's a picture of my photo setup:



    Loh K L

  15. #15
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    Folks,
    I dupped Tony's method, using tank-in-tank, for a few shots of the Fp GAR 'Lafia' male and am pretty pleased with the results.

    Clear acrylic tank that almost 'disappears'...

    Same ex-betta tank out of water.

    The specimens settle down much faster in familiar surroundings instead of showing 'fright-colors'. You guys ought to try it some time.
    I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
    Ronnie Lee

  16. #16
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    Wow! looks like they work real well.... cant wait to try some of my own..

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