Fish splash

Yesterday, after returning from feeding the trout in our casting pond, Yoshi told me he thought it would be interesting to see if I could possibly get a photograph of one of them leaping out of the pond; the fish tend to get pretty enthusiastic in pursuit of their food pellets, to the point where they sometimes clear the surface entirely as they make their grab. So after we ate our lunch today we headed on out to the pond to give it a whirl—Yoshi threw the food out into the water, and I snapped the pictures.

Despite the fact that I took more than 200 photos, I didn't get the kind of shot Yoshi was looking for; it was overcast and rainy here, and I suspect I'll have better luck on a day with at least a little sunshine, as it'd allow me to use a faster shutter speed. But I still ended up with a few interesting pictures, so it's not like it was a total waste of time.

To start things off, a fish with its head almost completely out of the water:



This photo was the next shot in the sequence, and I figured I'd share it for two reasons. One, it's a fairly impressive splash. And two, since the fish is completely submerged again you get a good sense of why it's a challenge to try and catch one mid-flight, so to speak—the entire jump is over in less than a second:



In this one you can see the backs of two different fish, as well as the wake left by a third:



I probably wouldn't have shared this one if I hadn't noticed it actually has two visible fish in it—one at the surface of the water and one right underneath it:



Another trout popping its head out:



I realize it's a bit difficult to make out, but there is a fish just starting to break the surface of the water in the center of this shot:



I only picked it out myself after I'd seen this next photo in the sequence, as it was when I saw its wake that I realized there was a fish there at all. In fact, only the very tip of the tail is actually visible in this shot—it's the effect it had on the water that was most definitely eye-catching:



If we don't get a chance to try again before the water temperature sends the fish into hibernation, I'm definitely going to make another attempt at fish photography come spring. Most likely after ingesting a half dozen espressos to improve my reflexes...