Marine fish

I went to the Columbus Zoo last week. The black bears weren't out, there was no polar bear action, the brown bears were sleeping, and the songbird aviary was closed. So I went to the aquarium.

I tried to get a better picture of these guys...

unknown species

but they turned away right when I pushed the button.

 

That happened several times, and I wondered what the heck I was doing. I finally figured out that the fish were reacting to the focus-assist light. I never use a flash at a zoo because it's mean, but I hadn't disabled the focus-assist light, which helps the autofocus system in low light. I stopped bothering those fish.

I did get a few decent shots.

sohal surgeonfish

threadfin snapper

zebra shark

A spotted zebra? These sharks are brownish and have stripes when they're young. They turn grayish and lose the stripes as they mature. These sharks aren't mature, I guess.

pennant coralfish

Reflections

There are good reflections

Columbus Zoo trumpeter swan pond. Coulda done better with the focus.

and bad reflections.

Florida manatee (Columbus Zoo, Apr. 2019). I've learned to wear a dark shirt when I expect to be taking pictures through glass. Maybe I should wear long sleeves and gloves, too.

There are reflections of lights.

Asian elephant (Columbus Zoo, Aug. 2018). This could have been a nice shot. 

I bought a circular polarizing filter, which purports to eliminate reflections, for my lenses, but it has limits. For one thing, it significantly reduces the amount of light that enters. When ambient light is low, such as when I'm in the elephant barn, I can hardly see anything through the viewfinder.

There are horrible reflections.

western lowland gorilla (Columbus Zoo, June 2018)

A viewing area that's darker then the exhibit limits reflections, but sometimes there are lighted signs behind the photographer.

sohal surgeonfish (Columbus Zoo, Jan. 2019)

A photo for artistic effect? No, I took the picture for the heck of it. It looks like a double exposure, but it's not. The sloth bear is inside the glass and the rock superimposed on the bear is a reflection of what's outside the glass.

sloth bear (Columbus Zoo, Aug. 2018)

I don't take the picture when I'm aware of a bad reflection, and I like to think I've become more aware over time. Still, I'm not always aware, as the manatee photo shows.

Here are a couple more good reflections.

unknown turtle (Columbus Zoo)

spur-winged lapwing (Toledo Zoo)