Critique Aquarium Shots

[LeuceDeuce]

A sampling of shots from the Vancouver Aquarium. Seeking critique.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3544278417_eb49eb8733_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2398/3544278477_4e905294ff_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2141/3544278333_2e939e24b1_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3544278379_d348e6720a_o.jpg

[bpiper7]

Show off!
What's that spiny thing?
How'd you get the eagle that sharp and well exposed with what I assume was a cloudy sky background?
VERY nice shots.

[shaneh]

I think that spiny thing is vana or sea urchin!!!
You know you can eat the stuff inside and it is delicious!
Any how nice shots.
Im digging the last one.

[Titus213]

Amazing eagle shot, great exposure and angle. And the last one is fascinating, very nicely done.

The other two are excellent but don't grab like the first and last.

[Grimlock]

I'd have to agree here. The eagle shot is wonderful and easily my favorite out of the bunch.

Nice job.

[Angry Dad]

I love the Eagle shot. Hey, photoshop him a smile....hehe. :)

[tonydee]

Great work Chris. #2s my least favourite... just a bit put off by the mucky spots in the water. Cheers, Tony

[Rubi Jane]

Very nice eagle shot! Well done on nailing that with the background.
Also love the playfulness of the dolphin shot.
Snake feels like it needs more DOF and the urchin doesn't do anything for me, probably too little DOF.

[swjim]

They're all nice but I really like the eagle and dolphins shots. Great job!

[bpiper7]

I think that spiny thing is vana or sea urchin!!!
You know you can eat the stuff inside and it is delicious!
.

I though maybe it was. East coast ignorance.;)

[LeuceDeuce]

Thank you all for your comments/feedback. There was method to the madness when I posted the eagle first, and the dolphin last ;) We're not always the best judge of our own work, but those two were clearly stronger to me.

The aquarium was doing a birds of prey demonstration, and the eagle perched no more than 10 feet away from me. Hence the incredible detail at 300mm. I've never taken one in the wild that was even close to this level of detail. As for the exposure: I over exposed (according to the camera) by about 5/3 of a stop, but the histogram on camera showed only minor clipping in the blue channel. Shooting RAW it was easy to bring it back down to realistic levels in Lightroom.

The dolphin is my favorite because it was a much more difficult shot to get. While the dolphin show was taking place I went to the tank viewing area. I would focus on the dolphin as it swam up to exit the pool, and then shoot as it came back in. Focus is not tack sharp, but the action in the shot makes up for that for me. I love the vortex's in the water near the dolphin as it enters the pool. I'm still not satisfied 100% with the crop, but I'll play with that later.

[semi-fly]

I really like number 2, not that the others are bad it's just that number 2 is an unusual shot (to me). The blurring near the rattlesnakes (?) head is a little distracting, but you were probably going for something interesting in the shot to begin with.

[Flo]

I was wondering why the eagle was at the Aquarium? Excellent shot Chris.

My fav's are still the belugas;)

[thomasro3]

I've used my 100mm macro for these and they came out surprisingly well.

[LeuceDeuce]

I really like number 2, not that the others are bad it's just that number 2 is an unusual shot (to me). The blurring near the rattlesnakes (?) head is a little distracting, but you were probably going for something interesting in the shot to begin with.

It's all based on distance and light, no artistic intent here. I was shooting 800-1600 ISO wide open 2.8 most of the day just to get enough light for a proper exposure. The best I could hope for was sharp focus on the eyes. I did get a better snake with the similar settings, but hadn't processed it yet:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3545731037_30cde19bc4_o.jpg

[RMXSeven]

Pretty nice Snake shot!
Love the scale detail on the left.

~Ronen

[1shot wonder]

These are some amazing shots for the conditions you were in. Nice work.