Over the past month, we received over 250 photo submissions on the Fluval Facebook page (become a fan if you haven’t already!) for the Winter 2009 Photo Contest. You can view all the entries by clicking the “Photos” tab on our Facebook page.  Despite the difficulty of choosing the winning shots among so many great ones, a winner was crowned.

The winning shots (featured above) were chosen for their clarity, accurate color representation, difficulty (rainbow fish are highly active and difficult to capture without motion blur), and overall beauty.

[View with PicLens]

Tom was gracious enough to answer a few questions on himself and his experiences with fishkeeping and photography.

1. So tell us about yourself?

My name is Thomas Sabatello. I am 44 years old and an Internet Designer/ Developer. (You can check out his blog Anubias Garden and his Facebook page of the same name, which both cover fishkeeping, aquascaping, and aquarium photography.)

2. What is your background in fishkeeping?

Fish tanks have been in my life ever since I can remember. My parents always had an aquarium in the house whether it was inside or a pond in the backyard. In the past 5 years I have discovered the Planted Aquarium. Places like Fishtown USA in Ramsey, NJ and more recently Absolutely Fish in Clifton NJ have helped inspire as well as keep the hobby alive. Both have been the main suppliers of plants and aquarium fish for me all these years.

3. Tell us some more about the winning shots.

The winning aquarium photo is of a 50 Gallon Planted Aquarium. Substrate is Eco Complete. – Lighting is 4-39 watt T5 Florescent bulbs timed dusk/dawn 12 hour days. Weekly doses of Flourish plant nutrient. Fluval 305 stacked canister filter.

The winning Fish Photo is a Melanotaenia praecox (Neon Rainbowfish) that was raised from eggs in a 20 gallon planted aquarium that was C02 enhanced as well as EcoComplete substrate. Flourish plant nutrients with 3 watts per gallon florescent lighting timed dusk/dawn 12 hour days.

Plants in aquariums – I have a flowering red Barclaya longifolia and Aponogeton ulvaceus as well many types of Anubias, lots of java ferns and mosses, african ferns, willow leaf hygro, too many to mention.

Fish in the 50 Gallon Aquarium include 2 Red Rainbows, 6 Cardinal tetras, 2 clownloaches , 12 various cory cats with babies from the Julie cory pair, 1 Siamese Algae eaters, 3 ottos, 1 albino rubbernose pleco and 3 Japonika Shrimp.

4. What tips would you give to other fishkeepers for taking pictures as
nice as yours?

Set the white balance to fluorescent if possible to match what’s used in the aquarium, use a tripod to keep the camera steady due to long exposure times. Find a camera or lens that can take macro photography.

5. What do you plan to do with your new Fluval EDGE?

I plan on doing a planted aquarium with the Fluval EDGE either a betta tank or Shrimp with tetras.

Finally, we’ve put together some great computer desktop backgrounds for your use based on Tom’s winning shot.  You can download them below!

Screen Resolution (click link & right click to save as): 1920X1280 :: 1280X1024 :: 1024X768 :: 800X600

The last week has been incredibly active over at Fluval’s Facebook page thanks to huge participation in the Fluval Winter 2009 Photo contest.  Looks like everyone really wants that Fluval EDGE, which will be awarded to the photo contest winner!

If you haven’t checked them out yet, head over to the Fluval Facebook Photo Gallery and view over 100 aquariums and fish photos already submitted. To enter your own, just upload 2 photos (1 up close fish/creature portrait, 1 full tank shot) to Fluval’s Wall.

With all of the excitement and aquarium photos, we thought we’d offer some tips to help you take that award winning shot, even if you’re just using a regular point and shoot camera.  So without further ado, here are 10 Tips that can dramatically improve your aquatic photography:

1. Turn off your flash! If you do nothing else, absolutely remember this: Turn off your flash when photographing your aquarium or individual fish.

Nothing kills a great aquatic photo like your camera’s built in flash.  By turning off your camera’s flash, you allow your camera to view the aquarium exactly (theoretically) as you see it in real life.  This will eliminate unnatural colors, reflections and flash burst in the glass, and unhappy fish.  ”But now my pictures are blurry!” Don’t worry, we’ll address how to fix that below.

2. Take A LOT of pictures. Sometimes getting a great aquatics photo is just a numbers game. With the advent of digital photography and the ability to take virtually unlimited photos without significant extra cost, this is perhaps the simplest way to get better aquatic photos. Just take more of them and chances are that one in a hundred will be absolutely stunning!

3. Don’t shake the camera. Without your flash turned on, your camera will likely automatically increase the exposure time (decreasing shutter speed) to compensate for the flash being turned off. This turns any camera movement into a failed photo due to image blur.  Try to hold the camera perfectly still while squeezing the button.

4. Use a tripod. This point goes along with not shaking the camera. By using a tripod or setting up a make-shift table or stack of books, you can completely eliminate ALL camera movement. You might also consider using your camera’s delay timer so that you never even touch it during the shot.

5. Take your pictures at night with all nearby house and room lights turned off. This eliminates any reflection or glare from lights, items, or people (including the photographer) in the room. It also places the entire focus of the picture on the aquarium itself. *And yes I know this rule was broken in the title shot above. Proof that good photos can still be shot when breaking these rules.

6. Replace your aquarium light bulbs or upgrade to higher output lighting. Since you’ve promised to stop using your camera’s flash, it’s even more important that your tank is well lit so your camera can soak up every last bit of light from the aquarium. Remember to replace your bulbs on a yearly basis. Brighter lights mean brighter tank, brighter fish, and better pictures.

7. Shoot in “Action” or “Burst” mode. With so much movement in many aquariums it can be hard to catch just the right shot.  Now a feature even in many new point and shoots and a standard in DSLR’s, burst mode will fire off 3 or more shots automatically.

8. Increase your camera’s ISO setting. Just like for taking great night shots, increasing your camera’s ISO to 400, 800, or 1600 (if you have a killer DSLR) will increase it’s sensitivity to light and take advantage of every ounce of light emitted from your tank.  You’ll have to be careful though as this can also lead to increased “noise” and grain in the image.

9. Follow some basic rules of photography composition. Something as simple as placing a fish in the photo off center can make it much more visually interesting.  Get creative with angles, framing, and even cropping after you’ve put the image on your computer.

10. Buy a better camera. While all of these tips can help even the amateur with a simple point and shoot take better pictures, a better camera with a better lens can make a world of difference. Canon and Nikon (among others) now make a number of entry-level DSLRs that can propel your aquatic photography to the next level.

Do you have your own aquatic photography tip to add to our list? Tell us about it below in the comments!