Am I just an idiot or…

[jpatten]

Is it actually really difficult to take good shots in an Aquarium? We just got back from a trip to Chattanooga and I discoverd that most of my pictures from the Aquarium suck. Of course If I had remembered my Monopod It might have helped some, but even with squishing the flash against the glass ( in the areas that allowed flash) most of the pictures suck. I can’t even pass it off to dirty or smudged glass. I kept screwing up either the needed ISO or shutter times etc.
I need to practice more, but its so expensive to get in to even the one here in Atlanta.

[SilverStag]

It is really difficult, unless you have something like one of the miraculous high-ISO cameras like the Nikon D3 or D700. I just saw some amazing available-light jellyfish images over on dpreview.com in the Nikon forums that were shot with a D3. When I hit the lottery…. *sigh*

[jpatten]

Yeah, I can see that. I have a Rebel XT. I have taken some GREAT shots with it, but it really suffers noise at ISO 1600.

[caradoc]

A squishy rubber lens hood helps a lot.

[jpatten]

I only have the hard plastic hood for my 70-300..

[SilverStag]

You can purchase a collapsible rubber hood that will screw into the filter rings- they are fairly inexpensive. The reason you want one is that it will conform to the glass and block out stray light and reflections.Look here:http://www.camerafilters.com/pages/lenshoods.aspx

[RcMacStudent]

I’ve found that a small spray bottle of glass cleaner and a rag go a long ways towards getting a clean shot – especially if you’re behind one of the school groups who’ve smeared their hands and noses all over the glass.

[caradoc]

I’ve found that a small spray bottle of glass cleaner and a rag go a long ways towards getting a clean shot

I prefer paper towels, as I don’t need to be carrying someone else’s snot in my pocket – and check with the staff before using any sort of glass cleaner. Some of them get a little freaky about unknown chemicals near their fish.

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