Fish vs Flowers: A Total Surprise

"Water Nymph"

Today's image was a complete surprise. It all started with a trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens located here on Ontario. They had two different features within the main greenhouses. Glass Under Glass and Chocolate: The Exhibition. Both a wonderful way to spend a winter morning to be sure. It's a delightful place anytime of the year! But out of everything I photographed, it was the fish in the Mediterranean Greenhouse that held a challenge and got my creativity going.

I was totally not expecting that. I was there to photograph flowers.

I had to work around extreme reflections, low light, darting fish, and moving water. I kept my camera on continuous shutter mode and just kept taking photos whenever there was a slight possibility the fish would approach me. It wasn't until an employee arrived with fish food that they really began to take notice. The conditions meant I needed my fastest glass, the 50mm prime, the ISO up to 400 to allow the speed I needed at 1/500 of a sec, and in order to keep the noise at a minimum and get the exposure I wanted I also bumped my exposure compensation up another +2.7. The aperture was F/3.2. Any smaller and the shutter speed was an issue, and any bigger and I wasn't sure just how much would be in focus.

This was one of the surprising results. And I love it for the watery patterns and motion it contains. It seems a little fantastical to me, like if you were to look away and then look back, the elegant golden sprite might vanish altogether.

I went for tropical flowers. I wound up with fish.

Who knew so much fun was waiting!

I can't say it enough. Be prepared for the unexpected when you decide to photograph your city and surrounding areas. Surprises are always waiting.