The Lost Eel by Jaclyne Jones. 2025. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0.
The Lost Eel (Reworked) by Jaclyne Jones. 2026. Licensed under CC-BY 4.0
Last summer I traveled to Greece to celebrate my graduation from the University of Edinburgh. As we traversed about on the island of Crete, my friend and I came across this aquarium, full of rescued sea life. I was immediately drawn to this large, beautiful fish surrounded by eels. The first picture I took was to revel in its beauty. It wasn’t until I glanced downward that I saw the eager eel trying to be seen from behind the scenes. I absolutely adore this photo, and even more so the cropped image because it accentuates the simile I witnessed. What is large and center is not always the main attraction. Sometimes if you adjust your viewpoint, you might uncover something entirely different to behold. Plus, I find the eel’s expression beyond hilarious. I plan to go back one day to check on the little guy. Make sure he’s getting the attention he deserves.
I hadn’t even noticed the bottom eel until you cropped it into the subject. Definite mood shift from beauty to… well, he looks a little bit spooked. Nudging the eel over so his eye is on the left third line would heighten that “lost” feeling, I think. Good citations.
Hi Jaclyne,
Like Ella, I also didn’t notice the eel until you cropped it into focus. I love this image, it made me giggle when I viewed it initially. To take advantage of the available space, my only suggestion would be to crop a little less off of the bottom of the image. I think this repositioning would place the eel higher up in the frame allowing our eyes to immediately notice it as the subject. Additionally, I really liked the contrast that the lower rocks provided. I think this repositioning would also add more white tones to the image which is currently a little dark. Great job overall, I loved this image selection!