The 2010 Annual Marine Fish & Reef USA magazine was just delivered. Three of our pictures were used to illustrate the article “Marine Biotopes.
One of Derk’s pictures of 4 pieces of coral is titled “A variety of commercially available bleached coral pieces can be used to recreate rubble zones.” Another of his is a top down view of an aquarium with two different kinds of gravel beds. It is titled, “The key to any good biotope is to know your fishes and invertebrates. Are they sand sifters? Are they diggers? The substrate should accommodate their needs.”
The third picture is one Sally made in a pet shop. She asked an employee to pose with a piece of coral in his hand inside a fish tank.
It is titled, “Well-planned placement of corals in an aquascape can go a long ways in creating a more realistic biotope look.”
The secret to making pictures that will be purchased by magazine and book publishers is to know the subject. Sally kept tropical fish tanks herself for several years. She is familiar with the needs and problems of the hobby. So images can be made ahead of time which are then available to the publishers.
