Whenever I visit aquariums (of which we have two great ones in this area) I am always drawn to the jellies (aka Jellyfish).  There is something very meditative about watching them slowly drift about the tank, changing shape and generally just minding their own business.

Photographing them can be challenging especially when there are a lot of other people trying to get a look which is almost always the case Jellies make people linger which is fine.  To get a good shot though you need to get close up to the glass and be a little selfish in a way.  Not that I hog the spot, I wait my turn and try to be as quick as possible and when someone else wants a look I will step away and wait for another gap – it’s not as if they are going anywhere.

The aquarium in long beach sometimes has photography nights where the place is shut for the general public and a group of photographers are allowed in to have time to set up equipment and take their time to get the best shot they can and take their time without getting in peoples way.
Manual mode is a must for the difficult lighting conditions and a rubber lens hood allows you to get right up to the glass and avoid annoying reflections.  The other advantage of the photographer nights is that they keep the ambient lighting a little lower than they generally would which helps.

Having said that all of these pictures were taken during normal opening hours without all those advantages.

I guess, due to their slow motion, Jellies are a fairly easy subject but that doesn’t stop me wanting to get the best shot I can especially with the small one’s like this which are no bigger than a dime.