Photographers Made A Splash (With No Flash) At The Aquarium Of The Pacific's Photo Night

Published Dec 2, 2023 5:00 AM

A giant sea bass looks upward at a school of sardines. Only the fish are well-lit; the background is close to pitch-black.

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An octopus shows off its tentacles, with the suckers plainly visible, in a twisted yoga-like pose. A blue background and some rocks are visible in the background.

Photographers trawled the Aquarium of the Pacific looking for perfect shots at the Aquarium of the Pacific's annual photographers' night this October, and the prize-winning catches have now been announced.

Crystal Stromer's photo of a giant sea bass appearing to gaze pensively at a school of fish took home the top prize. The aquarium's Andrew Reitsma, who helped to judge the entries, said that the winning shot caught the judges' attention for its moodiness that embodied the times we live in.

Reitsma said that the judges look for technicality, composition, and emotion in the photos of the aquarium's animals, but they're also looking for an unquantifiable "wow" factor.

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A skinny black-and-orange tropical fish stares head-on at the camera with an inscrutable, mysterious expression.

"Having done this for 10 years, you see a lot of similar images and you kind of look for things that you haven't seen before, things that kind of strike out as, 'wow, this is an amazing image,'" Reitsma said.

The photo contest's past winners have captured a variety of animals at the Aquarium, from frogs to tropical fish to the Pacific spiny lumpsucker.

During this year's photo night, photographers had free rein over the museum's exhibits, and they could also borrow equipment from vendors to help them take their shots. The aquarium was closed to the public for the event, allowing nature photographers to get wildlife photos without having to brave the waters of the Pacific.

A pink fish nearly blends in to the background of vibrant pink sea anemones with tentacles pointing in every direction.

Reitsma also said the Blue Lagoon, where the first-place picture was taken, is a great place for visitors to camp out looking for a shot.

"It has a lot of opportunities for taking pictures of the sardines and the schools of fish to the slow moving giant sea bass," Reitsma said. "It becomes challenging, but you can also step back and get these beautiful shots of glowing light coming down from the upper parts of the exhibit downlighting the darker areas at the bottom."

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A small, spidery, brown crustacean with striped markings perches delicately on top of red leaves underwater.

You may have missed many of the critters featured in award-winning photos on your last visit to the aquarium, but that doesn't stop them from being recognized by the judges.

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Annick Loomis/Aquarium of the Pacific

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An orange crustacean (likely a crab) with very long appendages rests on a brown rock with a black background, almost as if it were getting ready to hide in the shadows behind it.

While fish and octopuses are often the stars of photographers' night, the contest entries, like this photo that won honorable mention, run the full gamut of the species that live at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

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Mandi Blanton/Aquarium of the Pacific

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Reitsma, who has a photography degree from Cal State Long Beach, said his favorite animal to take photos of is the octopus. While they can be hard to track down at the aquarium since they spend much of their time out of sight, octopuses featured in two of the top ten photographs this year.

A close-up black-and-white detail shot of an octopus's tentacles in mid-motion.

While the vibrant colors of the aquarium's tropical fish are often the focal point of photos taken at the aquarium, some shots are good enough they work in black and white.

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Heather Banzuelo/Aquarium of the Pacific

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A small brown seahorse clings to a green vertical grass-like strand, with white pebbles on the floor contrasting against a deep blue background.

Photographers often turn their focus on the aquarium's smallest critters, like this seahorse.

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Christian Solo/Aquarium of the Pacific

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He offered some tips for anyone taking photos at the aquarium.

"Try to be as head on with your subject matter as possible," Reitsma said. "When you start shooting at an angle, you get aberration in the glass and it makes it difficult to get sharp shots, but if you try to get forward facing, perpendicular to your subject, it really helps to get everything really sharp."

A crustacean's eye and pincers pokes out of a close-up detail shot against a blue background.

A keen eye for detail goes a long way in the aquarium's photo contest.

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Jose Garcia/Aquarium of the Pacific

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A striped green, blue and yellow fish faces the top right corner of the photograph with its mouth agape.

The aquarium's photo judges say that pictures are often notable for the fish's expression, like the somewhat confused expression on this tropical fish.

(

Rich Esteban/Aquarium of the Pacific

)