Moon Jelly

[agaace]

Moon Jelly. Monterey Bay Aquarium, CA.

Can't stand fb's compression anymore, so moved to flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/42750202@N07
(Btw. how do I change my user name from this weird number to my name? I tried changing 'screen name' but it didn't help )

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

Hi,
1.Why so narrow frame?
2.As "Moon" being,the position is too... lowly.
Excuse me for not understanding.
Radu Dinu

[carregwen]

It looks very calm and perfectly formed. But does it sting! I see the exposure was -2/3, was it very bright there because the exposure looks good. Unusual shot.

[Terry Tedor]

Lovely shot.

Can't stand fb's compression anymore, so moved to flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/42750202@N07
(Btw. how do I change my user name from this weird number to my name? I tried changing 'screen name' but it didn't help )

I assume by "user name" you're actually referring to the URL of your photos, like "http://www.flickr./photos/agaace"? Right? As an example, my Flickr URL is http://www.flickr.com/photos/terrytedor/. Feel free to browse my photostream if you're so inclined!

Try going to the Flickr page where you administer your account settings by pulling down the arrow next to "You" under the Flickr banner at the top of the page. About midway down the "Your account" page you should see "Your Flickr web addresses" where two URL are listed, one is the URL for your Photostream and one is your profile. There should be an "Edit" link to the right. Click on it and it should take you to a page to change the URL of your Photostream. Please be aware, you only get one shot to change it. This from the Flickr help page:

" My friends have "friendly" Flickr URLs while I have a string of numbers. How do I get a friendly URL?

You can make your own Flickr alias. BUT!

You only get ONE SHOT at it, so choose carefully!"

Hope that helps.

2.As "Moon" being,the position is too... lowly.

Radu Dinu

I believe "Moon Jelly" is the name of this species.

[agaace]

Thanks for the comments!

I see the exposure was -2/3, was it very bright there because the exposure looks good.

No, it was actually quite dark. I used wide aperture (like around f/2.8, cause below this my 50mm lens is not very sharp and additionally the DoF gets drastically low), high iso, and still couldn't get a reasonable shutter speed in that light. These jellies move pretty quickly, so if I wanted the photo not to be blurred, I had to underexpose it slightly - it's the water that gets underexposed in this case, since the jelly is mainly white. Also, the water is solid blue, so easy to fix in Photoshop. (I recommend that aquarium, beautiful clean water, with this artificial intense blue color and backlights, as compared to other aquarium I visited, where water had normnal color and was full of food, little organic speckles, everything - that looked like snow or dust). So my postprocessing was to brighten up the photo, crop it from one side and add a bit of space from the other side. The original frame was centered, since that's easier to focus when you have quickly moving around jellies, and tourists, and you want to catch the moment when the jelly is separated from others and nobody's head or hand touching the glass and smearing greasy fingerprints on it is between your lens and the jelly.

PS. Terry, that worked. Thanks a million!

[Radu Dinu Cordeanu]

Lovely shot.



I assume by "user name" you're actually referring to the URL of your photos, like "http://www.flickr./photos/agaace"? Right? As an example, my Flickr URL is http://www.flickr.com/photos/terrytedor/. Feel free to browse my photostream if you're so inclined!

Try going to the Flickr page where you administer your account settings by pulling down the arrow next to "You" under the Flickr banner at the top of the page. About midway down the "Your account" page you should see "Your Flickr web addresses" where two URL are listed, one is the URL for your Photostream and one is your profile. There should be an "Edit" link to the right. Click on it and it should take you to a page to change the URL of your Photostream. Please be aware, you only get one shot to change it. This from the Flickr help page:

" My friends have "friendly" Flickr URLs while I have a string of numbers. How do I get a friendly URL?

You can make your own Flickr alias. BUT!

You only get ONE SHOT at it, so choose carefully!"

Hope that helps.



I believe "Moon Jelly" is the name of this species.

Thinking the question stands up I'll remain the same respectful Radu Dinu.

[Terry Tedor]

Thanks for the comments!


No, it was actually quite dark. I used wide aperture (like around f/2.8, cause below this my 50mm lens is not very sharp and additionally the DoF gets drastically low), high iso, and still couldn't get a reasonable shutter speed in that light. These jellies move pretty quickly, so if I wanted the photo not to be blurred, I had to underexpose it slightly - it's the water that gets underexposed in this case, since the jelly is mainly white. Also, the water is solid blue, so easy to fix in Photoshop. (I recommend that aquarium, beautiful clean water, with this artificial intense blue color and backlights, as compared to other aquarium I visited, where water had normnal color and was full of food, little organic speckles, everything - that looked like snow or dust). So my postprocessing was to brighten up the photo, crop it from one side and add a bit of space from the other side. The original frame was centered, since that's easier to focus when you have quickly moving around jellies, and tourists, and you want to catch the moment when the jelly is separated from others and nobody's head or hand touching the glass and smearing greasy fingerprints on it is between your lens and the jelly.

PS. Terry, that worked. Thanks a million!

You're welcome, glad it worked!

BTW, I tried taking some shots of captive jellies at the Alaska Sealife Center's tanks in Seward, AK, so I know how challenging it can be. Unfortunately, mine didn't turn out anywhere near as good as yours.

[Dave Humphries]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/42750202@N07
(Btw. how do I change my user name from this weird number to my name? I tried changing 'screen name' but it didn't help )

This any good?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agatastaniak/

UPDATE: Did this before I read Terry's post, seems you got it sorted

[agaace]

BTW, I tried taking some shots of captive jellies at the Alaska Sealife Center's tanks in Seward, AK

Ohhhh, I SOOOO want to visit Alaska! When do you think is best time to visit? What do you think is best to see? Apart from this sealife center, which looks good (especially once they have baby sea lions!!), I'd expect.. I dunno.. some stunning landscapes? Any advice where to go and what to see there?

[ScoutR]

Beautiful under any conditions - but through glass and in a a crowd - Wish I could do that. I've never seen a moon jelly, but they look like pearly jewels or porcelein or some kind of rare blown glass - beautiful against the blue background. Nice job!!

[Terry Tedor]

Ohhhh, I SOOOO want to visit Alaska! When do you think is best time to visit? What do you think is best to see? Apart from this sealife center, which looks good (especially once they have baby sea lions!!), I'd expect.. I dunno.. some stunning landscapes? Any advice where to go and what to see there?

Well, where to start, it's such a big place! Time of year depends on what you want to see. Generally speaking, statewide the best weather is in late May and June. Here in the interior where I live, the "rainy season" starts in mid July.

Wildflowers are usually in full bloom by the last week of June - first week in July, even above the tree line. Warmest weather here is usually the first week in July. Mountains along the coast - Valdez, Prince William Sound, Seward, etc are snow capped year round. In my humble opinion, Valdez or Seward are best. A whale watching/wildlife/scenery cruise on Prince William Sound or Resurrection Bay is hard to beat. Late May is best for whale watching, but they can be seen throughout the summer. My personal favorite is being out on Prince William Sound, sailing out of Valdez.

If snow, skiing, or aurora viewing is what you're after, March is the best; weather is usually pretty good, by Alaska standards. September is good for aurora viewing too.

We're up to over 13+ hours of daylight already and the days are getting longer as we approach the summer solstice; we're gaining about 7 minutes a day. Even as far south as Seward, it won't be dark enough at night to see any but the brightest stars from early May until late August. Summer solstice is always a blast - light all night and lots of celebrations going on.

If you're interested in seeing Denali, late May - early June or early mornings in mid to late August is good.

I have no experience with the panhandle - Juneau, Yakutat, etc, western coast along the Bering Sea or the North Slope, so I can't give much advice there. I do know from the pictures I've seen and from friends who've been there, early to mid September is gorgeous in the Brooks Range, but the weather can be dicey then.

Hope that answers your questions. If you have any more, shoot me a PM.

Regards,

Terry