My workgroup went to the Dallas World Aquarium as a reward for finishing the migration of our website. I packed up the 7D and the tripod and went to work!

It was my first shoot with the Canon, and it was such a challenge to set up the shots without lights, reflections from other tanks, people tripping over my camera…

I learned that when filming fishies and zooming way in to have them fill the frame, autofocus does. not. work. So I was bent in two for the four hours I was there, squinting through the viewfinder, and occasionally frustrated that while I was adjusting the focus my subject had drifted right out of the frame.

Many people came to the tanks and took their point-and-shoots out, snapped a photo of the fish, complete with flash and the red focus beam, which, of course, were all captured on film by yours truly. I tried to be patient because, well, I wasn’t about to hold a Photography 101 class there, and they didn’t KNOW I was filming. Next time I will wear a t-shirt or hang a placard that says “Filming in Progress”. Or go during a less-busy time, though since we went in the morning during a weekday, I don’t know when that would be.

When I came home, I collapsed on the couch and immediately fell asleep. It was exhausting. I hurt all through the weekend, but after I finished editing, it was allllll worth it