Certainly using a medium format camera (like Schmida did) to shoot fish <can>
make the section of the transparency used much sharper but the fact remains
that you do still have to get them in focus. It also requires more attention
to details that sometimes can be ignored with a 35 mm TTL camera. On the
smaller fishes Gunther goes beyond what any other photographer has ever
captured with the smaller rainbows. It is shooting at this next level that is
so very difficult to do. Not many others have ever been able to produce the
same type of results with such consistency. Not only does he capture the color
and clarity of the tiny fish but he often catches them "being blue-eyes" which
is very tough to do.
Exhibit 1 is the back of the Allen & Cross book. Show me a pic of a fish that
small with that clarity, sharpness and action. The Harvey's Creek and Ross
River signifers shots on pg 123 are also fantastic. Ditto for the connieae on
118/119. He also has a great series of blue-eye shots in the blue bible
(Merrick & Schmida) many of them duplicated in Leggett & Merrick. Comparing
the difference between shooting larger rainbows and blue-eyes, to use Bruce's
analogy, is like comparing apples to raisins :-) One is infinitely easier to
capture on film. I think that unless you've tried to do it yourself and
succeeded or at least partially succeeded that you don't realize what a
tremendous difference it represents. Both groups of fish almost never slow
down so both are much more difficult to shoot than something like a cichlid :-)
which is a very good beginner fish for photography. These comments are
certainly not meant to undermine Neil's photographic ability as without it
daresay I that the Fishes of Sahul would be a shadow of the magazine that it
is? If I were ranking the best fish photographers in the world I can assure
you that both would be in the top five.
Gary Lange
gwlange at STLNET.com
Rainbowfish Study Group of North America
http://home.stlnet.com/~gwlange/rainbowfish.index.html
<snip>
Gunthers technique is totally different to most other fish photographers and
even though he has switched to 35mm format recently I think that he sets a
standard that everyone else ( including my friend Neil Armstrong )admires.
Comparing "oranges and apples" is difficult and often ends up a matter of
taste - they both have been extremely generous to ANGFA with their skills
and knowledge and Neil particularly has had shots in every issue of "Fishes
of Sahul". BTW both will be showing slides at the ANGFA Conference in
Brisbane in October so be there!!!