First off, this is not a great photo. It actually is a fairly bad photo. It has a major flaw with it.

Contrary to what this photo looks like, manta rays do not eat whale sharks (unless you're making a B rate sci-fi movie).

The problem with this photograph is known as a convergence or merging.

Basically, when I took this photo, I wasn't paying enough attention. My focus was all on the manta ray (and sadly even that isn't even in focus!).

I did not notice the whale shark entering into the background, and wait too long before tripping the shutter.

The result? A photo that makes it appear that the manta ray is trying to eat a whale shark. Trust me - like I said, that just doesn't happen. Both animals actually eat plankton, or basically small marine animals that aren't any larger than a quarter. Tiny shrimps and other small marine animals that float in the water.

I am going to make up some excuses for myself here...

First, all of the animals in the photograph are constantly moving - this is probably the biggest reason for convergences like this. When you have multiple subjects constantly moving and you are tracking to track one of the subjects, you sometimes lose track of the others and this can happen.

In addition, this photo was taken at the Georgia Aquarium's Ocean Voyager main viewing window. A 23 feet tall by 61 feet wide by 2 feet thick sheet of acrylic (currently the second largest aquarium viewing window in the world) in a darkened room. Multiple factors that all team up for difficult photography.

But in reality, none of these are excuses for converging subjects.

Keep an eye out for this in your own photos and try to avoid it. Definitely don't let it happen with stationary elements in your photos. It is distracting, and quite often ruins photos.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II at 55mm, 1/15 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400. No post production. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, GA.

So enough beating up on my own photography for a bit... now I am going to babble a bit about the trip itself.

This particular visit to the aquarium was our second trip. The first time the aquarium did not have the manta ray. However, this second time, we were scuba certified, so we took advantage of the aquarium's Journey with Gentle Giants program.

Yeah, some might call it cheating, but Anya and I have gotten to swim with whale sharks, manta rays, hammerheads, and a ton of other stuff. And as fascinating as whale sharks are, I've always loved manta rays.

During our dive, there was a point at which the manta ray swam no more than a couple feet above me. I managed to roll over on my back and swim underneath it and watch as it glided through the water above me. Has they not had strict rules about touching the animals, I could have easily reached up and ran my hand along its belly.

On one hand, I wished I could have had a camera with me, but on the other hand, I am glad that I didn't so I could just experience the dive.

But underwater photography is something I'll be getting into more and more. Now if only someone would donate a couple Ikelite housings to the cause...

Ok - that is a long enough post for today. I'm going to wander off to look through a new Coral Reef photo book I bought over the weekend.

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend (or here's hoping your Monday is starting off smoothly).

- Bill