You are all WINNERS!
Thank you all for participating by entering your guess. Several of you were close, SO I WILL ENTER ALL OF YOU INTO MY DRAWING!  No one guessed higher than 1600 ISO. Most people are afraid to go higher than that. However with newer cameras it is possible to pull off some high ISO images without excessive noise. You just need to take a lot more images because the success rate is much lower.
You may be surprised at my ISO. No one dared to guess that I would shoot it so high. Here are my camera settings and the story.
ISO 6400  1/100  f/5.6
I was handholding my Nikon D7000 and to get good clarity I did not want to have a slower shutter than 100. Also the jellyfish was swimming I did not want the motion blurred, so I had to catch him between his big flex pushes when his movement was at a slight pause. I also did not too shallow a depth, so i did not go any wider than 5.6.
I took several shots to get one that did not have too much blur or noise. Some very low light was shining in from the edges of the aquarium to show off the intricate tentacles of hundreds of jellies. The light was low enough that I needed to push all the way to 6400 ISO to get a decent exposure.
I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this image. I learned that it is possible to pull off a decent capture at ISO 6400 if you take several images and angles and get a little lucky!  So as “they often say”… Don’t be an ISO snob!  Crank her up there once in awhile and see what you can get!    ”

Guess my ISO – Aperture – Shutter Speed for a chance to win camera gear!

One way to sharpen your photographic skills is to look at an image and guess what camera settings were used so you can finetune your own understanding of proper camera exposure. So here is an opportunity to practice!  Just leave a comment here with your best guess as to my camera settings on this image. Please guess the ISO, aperture (f/stop) and shutter speed. I took this photo of a delicate jellyfish in late July through the glass inside the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I will put your name in my Christmastime drawing for new camera gear if your guess is the closest. Leave your comment here on this blog post and you are one step closer to a new flash, pistol grip tripod, portable continuous light, flashbender or other equivalent prize! Leave your comment before 9:00pm MST this Monday, October 22.  Good luck!

Guess the ISO – Aperture – Shutter Speed: Monterey Bay Aquarium – Caryn Esplin – Jelly Fish – Mystery Photo #5