How to photograph goldfish…..
I never set out to take photos of them. Well, I just didn’t even consider it – that is
until I mentioned them in a blog and knowing that photographs go well in a
blog, I wished I had taken the photo when they were just in the plastic bag in
which I carried them home from the Caboolture market. The plastic bag safely "hidden" in the Victoria Market
bag along with a small bag of fish food.
On arriving home I released them from the dark confines of
the Market bag, into fresh tank water in their new home – a rather large cement
type pot which many years ago housed my first gold fish friends.
I had already decided to name these new fish – after my very
long departed grandparents Minnie and Wally.
I don’t recall Minnie though I have seen photos of her and I can’t even
remember talking about her with my father.
Wally, I did know. He lived alone
in his brick and stone house in Airlie Avenue Prospect – he had lived there
from soon after he and Minnie married, until his death. My dad was like him – at least in looks. He loved birds and had a great collection of
budgerigars. It is family legend that he
bred the first black budgie – I don’t recall seeing it. He did give us a budgie when we were
children – a green one we called Willie Fennell after a famous comedian of the
time.
Back to my gold fish.
One is a Comet fish and the other has some strange name which I can’t
recall and I don’t know what gender they are.
How do you tell the sex of a gold fish? Mmmm Something to research.
Oh, the photo. In their
new home they have been hiding under the greenery that I purchased. Some weird grassy things held together with
some rubber bands. I forgot to ask how
to look after the grass – should I take the rubber bands off? There’s absolutely no chance of getting them
to smile for the camera from under the grass.
So, I rinsed out a large glass vase that has not seen any
fresh flowers since I have been here at Beachmere – in fact I have had no fresh
flowers at all since I moved here, and then filled it halfway with some of the
tank water. Then with a plastic food
container I scooped and scooped and scooped hoping to catch Wally and Minnie as
they raced feverishly around the big bowl trying to escape my scoop. At last I had Minnie and eventually the wily
Wally, and dropped them into the glass vase.
I had cleared a small coffee table – and with great care
lest I drop the glass vase and see my new fishy friends flapping on the floor,
I carried it inside and safely planted it on the table.
Wally and Minnie appeared rather stressed by this ordeal and
clung together as much as goldfish can do, at the bottom of the vase, shaking
and gulping (or was that really abuse being hurled my way?)
I sat patiently with Canon camera at the ready, hoping that with
luck I could get a decent photo before stress got the better of them and they
died of fright.
Click, click, click.
Thinking I had stressed them and myself enough for one day,
I turned the camera off and gently walked the glass vase back outside and as
gently as I could poured the water and the fish back into the “pond”.
(Later) I am not sure if they are still in shock or just
resting beneath the greenery – but their tails do move a little bit and if they
were dead wouldn’t they float upside down on the top? Wouldn’t they?
I must read up – there’s probably something on the Internet –
about caring for two goldfish, and perhaps I should find out how to determine
their gender. Perhaps Wally should be
Minnie? Or maybe they are both the same
gender? Gay, maybe?
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| That's Minnie silver and gold. |
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| Minnie - clearly the dominant fish - on top. |
Shubunkin
How to tell the gender of a goldfish
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