We are busily adapting our photographs to the new product format.  So far we have the following flip mino camcorder designs available: Big Ben, exit graffiti, Irish shamrocks, kitty cat, and several abstract fractals. 

As of October 26 we have a section of 25+ flip mino camcorders.  Take a look .                   

Mote has the usual aquarium type tanks for tropical fish. The biggest problem photographing in that area of the facility is the ever present hobby photographer or visiting school group.

Mote also has a huge aquarium tank for manatee. It is necessary to use wide lens because the manatee are big. The best perspective for a picture is from the lower viewing area where you make an underwater shot. Reflections on the aquarium glass can be a big problem there.

Here are a couple of Derk’s pictures. The Jellyfish is available at kphotos.imagekind.com/TropicalFish as poster or framed print and the clownfish is also available there.:

Fortunately there was no rain and the waters above the coral reefs were not riled up so visibility was wonderful. We took the snorkel tour from John Pennekamp and photographed at White Banks. We swam with many, many more fish than when at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia!

We also photographed dolphin/human encounters and should have great film from there. Lighting might be a problem as ambient light was low due to approaching storm clouds. The film is being developed now.

While on the dolphin property we photographed ibis birds exhibiting unusual behavior. A large group- 15 or more – were standing in a huge puddle, maybe 1/2 foot deep, some were bathing while others appeared to be drinking. We’ve never seen them bathe before.

Fortunately we had good weather for photography; clear skies with just a few interesting clouds floating by. We had a tripod, but, only used it at night. A tripod and extension cord for strobe are usually employed in retail aquarium stores where the tanks are small. But, with large public aquarium tanks the fish have so much room to move that we do just as well hand holding camera with flash on body.

Now we are assembling a set of new tropical fish pictures for a photo buyer. The hardest part of the job is correctly naming the fish. If we cannot determine the name from reference books or the internet, we contact the Aquarium staff and ask for help.

Look below at Brian White’s comment on photographing in bright light. He is right and we neglected to share that we make our pictures in early morning or late afternoon when in an area known to have bright light. The afternoon glow on buildings from sidelight as the sun is low on horizion is very pleasing to the eye.

Take a look if you are a photographer looking for work in Florida. There’s a module for job hunting. We were limited to choosing 1 state so Florida is it.
Take a look if you are a photographer looking for fresh ideas. There are modules for photography books and magazines on Amazon.com.

Take a look if you are curious about Cafe Press shops. There’s a module with shops we found in the CP directory.

Derk worked as an assistant to a professional studio photographer and took many studio portraits as well as doing wedding photography. He used medium format cameras, black & white film, and developed prints himself.

Sally started with a local camera club in Chicago. She learned to develop black and white film at Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida.

Both Kuypers benefited from photographic workshops at Palm Beach Photographic Center, Santa Fe Workshops, and Great American Photography Workshops. The fine points of PhotoShop image processing were explored during Palm Beach workshop.

A Santa Fe Workshop instructor encouraged Sally to sell her work through a stock agency. Now the Kuypers are represented by two American stock agencies and one British stock agency.

Photo Tip: Making unstaged pictures requires selection of background. Take care to reduce clutter and unwanted distractions. One set of images was spoiled because the pet store employee holding the dog had a bandaged finger. The store manager insisted that the employee had to hold the dog, so, it couldn’t be avoided.
Dog portraits are not too different from people portraits. We prefer a natural final image, not one with a studio look. So, we rely on natural lighting with only fill flash to get the catch light in the animal’s eye.

Photo Tip: some photographers may not at first notice the importance of getting the catch light in the subject’s eye (animal or human). Take several of your pictures and compare to portraits in a magazine. It is that tiny white spot (catch light) in the eye that gives life to the subject.

Our dog picture inventory provided several favorite animal pictures to use on products at Cafe Press. My current favorite is the sheep dog photographed on a downtown street. The owner was delighted when we asked to make photos. Even the dog enjoyed it!

Other subjects were damselfly, baby fish, and various pond creatures.

Photo Tip: Want to make a picture of dragonflies? Find a dragonfly sitting on a twig or plant. It will probably move before you can make your picture. Don’t chase it. Position yourself and wait for another to land on the same twig or plant.