A Day at the Aquarium

Last Saturday I went to the New England Aquarium, which happens to be one of my favorite neighborhood destinations. Needless to say, I was armed with my new super-zoom buddy. Turns out the aquarium's central attraction, the Giant Ocean Tank, is "undergoing a top-to-bottom, 21st-century transformation." The penguins and several of their buddies are therefore on vacation. I am certainly looking forward to the makeover, which is due for completion in summer 2013! Meanwhile here are some shots, mostly of swimmers in near-perpetual motion, set in the aquarium's low-light ambience. I'm still getting used to the camera's manual mode (and clearly remain far from my target). So please do bear with me!

"Jelly jam": Japanese sea nettles on a collision course

Bioluminescence in Leidy's comb jellies

Can you spot the piranha's teeth?

Leafy sea dragon

A school of fish with phosphorescent blue stripes

How would you like to style your fin today? I suggest an orange mohawk!

The urchin and the anemone

A gorgeous, white anemone

And a pink one

This fish was a about a foot in length and was swimming around in the Giant Ocean Tank. Doesn't it look like it was born to star in an animation movie?

What a coral reef ecosystem might look like