Monterey Bay aquarium...

Took this in 2006, and am thinking about entering it in a local photography contest. I personally like it, but was wondering if composition is ok, along with the photograph in general.

Well, it's basically a silhouette of a lot of onlookers with the fish subjects all showing motion blur. What is it that you like about it?

Hmmm.... never really had thought about it. Guess it's just that it's people enjoying fish, and that they are silhouetted. Maybe it doesn't work? That's why I put it here first!!

Robert_Lay wrote in post #6139102
Well, it's basically a silhouette of a lot of onlookers with the fish subjects all showing motion blur. What is it that you like about it?

Its just to "in motion" for me personally..

OK!! Thanks for the input. It is greatly appreciated!

If the shark(?) at the fore of the tank wasn't blurred from motion, this would be a great pic. But there is too much motion going on, no standout subject. Having said that, I kinda like it anyway, it has a nice quality about it. (maybe because I cant help visualising what it could have been, with the shark not blurred and maybe facing the onlookers)

I had a very similar idea, and mine didn't come out great...until I played with the framing. While, in my opinion, my shot still didn't come out great, it proved to benefit from playing with the framing.

Not to thread jack, but here's my end result. Very similar.

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drevilsmom wrote in post #6139052
Took this in 2006, and am thinking about entering it in a local photography contest. I personally like it, but was wondering if composition is ok, along with the photograph in general.

These are just my thoughts as always, but as a person who shoots at a lot of zoo and zoo like facilities (including the occasional aquarium) I'd like to toss my opinions out here...

Personally I don't think the shot works at all and I would not enter it in a contest. The reason being that I don't think there is any central subject here other than "some people watching some fish at an aquarium". I could be wrong here, but I might guess that your attraction to this image is simply the color and the silhouettes but to me at least, those two factors alone don't make a strong composition. There's also a great deal of motion blur here too that I think ruins the image beyond repair.

Since you were shooting this at an aquarium, I think a better approach would have been to isolate one individual fish or specimen. When I'm shooting at such facilities, I always ask myself "What is this picture about?". For example, if I'm shooting pictures of Lions at the Cleveland Zoo, then I ask myself is the image about the walls around the lions? Is it about the people watching the lions? Is it about the dirty viewing window? Or is it simply about the lions? In your case is it about the fish tank? The people watching the fish? That turtle way up at the top of the tank? The little bubbles that come off as specs in the image? Hopefully you get my point. The wonderful thing about zoos and especially an aquarium is that it presents a lot of "critters" that most folks don't get to see every day. Not to highjack your thread here, but he's another example shot at the Newport Aquarium down in Kentucky...

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Once again, thanks for the advice from all!! This is why I appreciate having a site like this. And deletedpenguin, you shot is by far much better. I do have a shot of jellies that I really liked, and I think that may be a little bit better. This was taken at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. Still not as nice as Walczak Photo's jelly shot, but hey, this is how I learn!!

LOL, my original post shot ended up placing third in the county fair. I put it in more just for fun, as I thought my others were much better. Sadly, to me at least, my poorest shots placed the best, where the ones that my composition and lighting were better fared the worst. (I placed first in another category where I thought the shot was mediocre.) I definitely do NOT think of myself as a pro by any means, but I thought from an artistic point many of the shots that placed were poorly lit or exposed, or the composition was not well done. My mom, who is extremely artistic, said that in her years of showing her paintings, the problem was that my name was on a shot in each category and the judges were merely being fair to other exhibitors. LOL, of course she is probably biased. I told her that compared to many shots I see on this forum, I'm a poor shot for sure!! I DID learn a lot as for what judges look for. They seemed to really like local landmarks such as local bridges or rivers, cute animals with an awwwww factor, and shots that were a little different (such as the post here of the people.) I think that many of my shots, while correct for the most part (and definitely compared to many that I saw,) were "sterile" so to speak, and just did not get the viewer to have an emotional experience. Oh, well.... Live and learn!!!

Hey Elizabeth,
If nothing else, this again goes to prove the subjectivity of "art". As a fine art photographer myself, it's often difficult to guess what will actually sell. The thing to remember is that in general and even in photo contests where the judges aren't actually photographers themselves, that most people really don't know ANYTHING about photography beyond a simplistic general aesthetic appeal. Most folks really can't tell a photo that is well lit from one that is poorly lit and in most peoples minds if the picture is actually sharp and in focus...well...it's just a great shot, LOL!!!

Most people (again outside of actual photographers or educated artists) are indeed attracted to local landmarks...things that are recognizable to them. The are often also attracted to strong colors as well. Color is one of those wonderful tools that will draw a persons attention from across a room. I entered one contest last year (judged by the public) where I had entered 12 pictures. The "theme" was indeed local landmarks, so most of the images I entered were sunset shots of local beaches and such. Of the 12 pictures, 6 were semi-finalists and since only one of them could win...well...I got a nice little $100 savings bond for it . In any case, I really don't think it was the composition as such that most of the folks looked at as much as simply "the pretty colors"...and again that my shots were actually in focus when so many of the other entries weren't! LOL!!!

Anyways, as you say...it's a learning experience .

Peace,
Jim