Photographing Fish...

Personally, I think watching fish is so relaxing, so naturally, I thought I would find photographing them relaxing also. It turns out, this is not true. It is so hard to get them in good light, and they so often hide behind plants or are obscured by random bridges in the tank. First off, I tried to take photos with the tank light off, but the glass would have reflected the flash, and I didn't want to stun the fish, so I then had to turn on the tank light, and wait for the utter panic of the fish to die down. Fish get unexpectedly panicky about light. So, the light was making them look very bright and vibrant, but with the light on, they are much more likely to hide, becuase they take a long time to get used to the sudden brightness. EVENTUALLY, they appear from behind the plastic plants, and I start to try to take some decent photographs. However, this proves difficult, as they are more interested in eachother than my camera, as they should be, so it is a very rare occasion that I catch one of them in a good position long enough for me to take the picture. It is more difficult than you would think, constantly tracking the exact positions of six fish simultaeneously. But, for all my moaning, I did get a couple of good shots of them.

 This is Romeo, my Mr. Grumpy Gills. (I swear I've never seen finding nemo :P)

 This is Priscilla. My mother named her after Priscilla Queen of the Desert, because she looks like she is wearing lipstick.

 Here, from left to right-

Romeo (big one at the back)

Priscilla (orange + white)

Oliver (Orange)

Annie (Yellow + white)

Pip (orange + white hiding at the back)

Sandy (all yellow)

Yes, I name my fish after book/film characters. It used to be just Romeo + Juliet, but Juliet died, so we got Pip, then we got the others. :)

 Pip. (Named from Great Expectations.)

Annie, looking decidedly grumpy. 

Ok, I know I'm weird, talking about my fish as if they were people, but people misjudge fishes' intelligence. They have a reputation for being forgetful and thick, but my fish all have personalities, and they know what time of day we feed them, what the noise of the opening of the cupboard means (food), and they throw pebbles at the glass if you dont feed them at their feeding time.

Yes, fish are smart, and one day, they're going to take over the world.

Dancing Daisies

I do love macro shots, and I find that flowers are the perfect things to take close-ups of. The colours look really sharp in front of the unfocused green of the foliage below. I'm not going to wither on about flowers (no pun intended), I'm just going to put on pictures of them. :)
I am aware that I am sounding quite boring. I promise I'm not, I just don't think you would be that interested in the life of a teenage girl. :P

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Please comment :)

Sunsets

I, for one, am slightly in love with taking photographs with sunsets. I just think they are stunning, and I love the way there are so many different colours to capture. Soppy, I know, but everyone has something cheesy that they love. :')

 This is my favourite shot. This won a Junior Award on Ephotozine. To view my ephotozine portfolio, visit http://www.ephotozine.com/user/lizzie-x-110794

 I like this, it's a little more grey than your average sunset.

 I also like this one, I like the line of cloud above the sun.

 There are so many versions of this, I took photos constantly as the sun went below the horizon.

I love the colours in this, and I love the sillouette of the palm tree.

Holidays

Hello :)
I often find that the most interesting place for photography is abroad. I love the sunlight, and I always think a photograph looks happier if the sky is that wonderful shade of blue that you can just never get in England, no matter how much you edit the photos.
With this in mind, here are some photographs from various holidays. They will be from a mix of my two cameras.
It's funny, I find that I need my zoom lens a lot more often when I am on holiday. I don't tend to use it much at home.

Again, comments and critique wanted. :)

Getting Into Photography

So, I'm relatively new to all of this, but I enjoy learning and I am excited to learn through practise. My Dad used to be very into photography, so he helps me along when I get stuck.
I have recently bought a Canon EOS 550D, with a Canon EFS 15-55mm lens and a Canon EFS 55-250mm lens, with a clear glass filter on both.
I am also interested in trying film photography, so when my Dad finds his old film SLR (vintage from the 80's) I will start trying to figure that out too. :)
So, to start with, here is a couple of images that I took in december '10, when it was very snowy, and therefore pretty. These were taken with my old camera, a Fujifilm Finepix S2000 HD, which can be considered a 'mini DSLR'.
Also, I can credit my best friend, Tamar, for getting me interested in photography. Type 'Tamar Smith Photography' into google, she is the ephotozine account that comes up as the first thing on the list. Seriously, check her out, she's really good. :)
Tamar is not the only awesome photographer I know, but I don't know the links to anyone else's portfolios. If I find anymore, I will point you in the right direction. :)

Please comment on my photos, I always appreciate helpful hints. :)