Black-nosed Cardinalfish13 June 2017
About the subject:
Although not all cardinalfishes form schools, the depicted species lives in dense aggregations. By day you can generally find them in caves or in nooks of the reef. Male cardinalfishes are mouthbrooders, meaning they incubate the eggs inside their mouths. To distinguish cardinalfish species from each other you have to look for markings like spots, bars and stripes on their body or around the eyes. The distinguishing mark of this species is the black spot on the nose, hence the name: black-nosed cardinalfish (Rhabdamia cypselurus).
About the picture:
To isolate the subject in this picture I used a combination of tricks: Due to a shallow depth of field only one cardinalfish is in focus. This individual is placed on the upper horizontal line of the ‘Rule of thirds’ grid. In post-proces I blurred the other fish just a little bit more to accentuate the depth-of-field effect. I also boosted the contrast a little to make the colours pop.