I was wandering around the The Florida Aquarium in Tampa last night for the Kodak-sponsored Closing Night Party at Imaging USA. Since it was a photography show, it's safe to assume that most of the attendees were shooters.

I was amazed at how many people did not know how to shoot exhibits at an aquarium. So I thought it might be time for a refresher. This technique applies to shooting through hotel windows and portholes on airplanes too.

1. Turn off the flash. (all it's going to do is cause reflection in the glass).
2. Increase your ISO (for aquarium and museum shooting) to 400 or above.
3. Look for a subject that isn't moving too fast. You're not going to engage in action photography here unless you switch to movie mode (which is also fun!).
4. Find a clean place in the glass, and put the nose of your camera right against it. This eliminates reflections from your surroundings.
5. Shoot in Raw if you have it. You'll most likely have to do a little image cleanup when you get back to the computer.
6. Don't worry about bad shots. You'll have some loss for this type of assignment. But the keepers will be outstanding!

All types of water shots are fun. I was lucky enough to see Howard Schatz this week and learn how he did those amazing dancer images underwater. Aquariums also provide great opportunity. Apply this technique, and you'll come home with a prized shot.

Photo of Lionfish by Derrick Story, captured with a Canon G9, ISO 400, f-2.8 at 1/6 of a second. Processed in Adobe Lightroom.

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