aaronbrent

The Milk and Water Phenomenon

This was supposed to be a nice little test shot for a series I had in mind. However, as I tried to develop the concept further, this piece remained superior to ...
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This was supposed to be a nice little test shot for a series I had in mind. However, as I tried to develop the concept further, this piece remained superior to the others, constantly demanding that it stand alone. It one out, and for now, it remains singular, although I plan to revisit the concept in the future.
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NIKON D3200

settings

Aperture f/5.6 ISO 400 Shutter 1/400

upload_date

Jul, 2014

Views

668

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Behind The Lens

Location

In my driveway. Where I lived in Indiana at the time, I didn't have access to a lot of photography supplies, so the setup was kind of sketchy looking. To capture the milk drops, I had a clear plastic tank filled with water on top of a side table, with my tripod right in front of it. There was a hose near my feet, as well as a gallon of milk. The whole thing was pretty ridiculous looking. I got quite a few weird looks from people as they drove by.

Time

It was late afternoon. I believe I started shooting around five, and the light was very harsh. It was exactly what I needed. The shadows of the trees near my house were growing though, and I kept having to scoot my setup further and further away from them, which I'm sure was hilarious to watch. It was an unwieldy process.

Lighting

You'll know the perfect lighting when you see it. I'd been rolling this concept around in my head for a while, and one afternoon I looked out the window and saw how intensely bright the summer afternoon had become. I knew immediately that I needed to shoot. Never pass up good light.

Equipment

My trusty Nikon d3200, a tripod, a clear plastic tank, a side table, milk, a torn up black binder, and an ungodly amount of water.

Inspiration

I'd seem someone try something similar, but it was very unsuccessful. The more I looked at those photos, the more I thought that the concept deserved to be pulled off correctly. And the more I thought about what I wanted from the photo, the more I loved the concepts. I was/am very taken by the ideas of coming together and falling apart, as well as the thought of totally losing or immersing yourself in something.

Editing

Haha, quite a lot. With this sort of crazy, weird conceptual portraiture, you spend a lot of time in post. The black plastic I used in the background was far from a true black, and the lighting really exaggerated that, so I spent a lot of time color correcting that and just generally cleaning it up. I also spent quite a while on the face, making sure it was interacting with the swirls of milk naturally. There was quite a bit of very delicate masking to do.

In my camera bag

A sad fact about me: I do not own a camera bag. I'm a poor art student, and that's not something I've been able to splurge on. I normally have at least one camera around my chest, either my Nikon d3200 or my Yashica j-7. Sometimes both. I own other cameras, mostly film, but those two are my go-tos. I also generally have a lightweight aluminum tripod sticking haphazardly out of my backpack, and if I know I'm going out to shoot I take a heavier duty tripod. And I always have a sketchbook on me, because if I don't write down a photo idea/concept immediately, I'll lose it.

Feedback

Conceptual portraiture, by nature, is weird. That's what makes it fun. So in order to be successful, you have to be willing to be weird yourself. You have to be willing to fail. There's a lot of visual risk taking that happens. You have to kiss a lot of frogs. So the most important thing, I guess, is to just get out there and start trying it, and eventually you'll start to figure out what works best for you. As far as capturing fluids in motion, use a very high shutter speed. Wait for the right light so you don't have to compromise your ISO in order to get a nice shutter speed; with such a delicate image, a little bit of noise can throw off the entire thing. Get a lot of shots. With something so unpredictable, you'll need them. Patience is a necessity.

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aaronbrent

aaronbrent

The Milk and Water Phenomenon

This was supposed to be a nice little test shot for a series I had in mind. However, as I tried to develop the concept further, this piece remained superior to ... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow aaronbrent

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This was supposed to be a nice little test shot for a series I had in mind. However, as I tried to develop the concept further, this piece remained superior to ...
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.