First Drops Caught
Trying something a little different (for me). I got some aqua pebbles I had for other stuff, and threw them in a glass... many, many times. To get the speed u...
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Trying something a little different (for me). I got some aqua pebbles I had for other stuff, and threw them in a glass... many, many times. To get the speed up, I threw on a 300w studio light, jumped to 3200 ISO, and shot in burst mode. It still took about 100 shots to get this one, where the pebble is entering the water when the shutter is open.
I was so excited that I didn't realize until post that a humidifier was still showing in the background. I'm not skilled enough at lightroom yet to remove it, so I left it in. I wanted the droplets, and sub-droplets to be the core of the image.
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I was so excited that I didn't realize until post that a humidifier was still showing in the background. I'm not skilled enough at lightroom yet to remove it, so I left it in. I wanted the droplets, and sub-droplets to be the core of the image.
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Mar, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this in my kitchen, in my apartment in Arden, North Carolina. I used the little 'island' where the sink is, to minimize issues from splash. The glass is a flower vase, which I filled to the brim. The vase sat in a baking pan to limit run-off of water.Time
This was taken late on a Saturday afternoon. The weather kept me inside, but I wanted to photograph SOMETHING... this is when I was experimenting with different types of indoor photography, like oil-and-water, soap bubbles, and splashes.Lighting
There are 3 light sources here, because I wanted as fast a shutter as I could muster to freeze the motion. I had a light panel from Neewer (LED), the kitchen light (incandescent) and a flash (I believe it was a canon 450 speedlight). The trick here was to put light where the drops would be, without lighting and exposing the whole kitchen behind the glass. The flash kept dropping the shutter speed, so I turned it off and bumped ISO up for this shot.Equipment
Canon EOS Rebel T6, Tripod, 85 mm (from a zoom lens), f/5.6, 1/1000 second ISO 3200. The real trick here was the pebbles, which were what you use to decorate a fish tank. Originally, I was dropping 1 little pebble and missing it. What worked better was taking a 'fist full' of pebbles and pouring them... so the timing didn't have to be perfect, just 'close enough'.Inspiration
I was excited by seeing pictures online about a 'Pluto trigger' which makes some amazing photos. I wondered if it was worth getting. So, I set out to take some pictures manually of splashes. Imagine filling a vase 1/2 way with pebbles, one at-a-time, 4 times. It was around 150 images before I figured out how to capture the splash. (i.e.: where do you put your hand, how fast do you drop the stones, how long before firing the trigger.) Since then, I have purchased a Pluto trigger. Once synchronized, it is great for timing, and for hitting a splash with another drop (or 2) from the system.Editing
I use Adobe Light Room (what's now called Light room Classic). I sharpened the edges, leveled the waterline, and punched up the contrast a bit. I live and die by Lightroom, and have used it as long as I have done digital photography.In my camera bag
I just recently upgraded to a Canon R7 (32 Mp!), so that is with me on any photo trips. I have a 15-185 RF lens, a 10-20 EF lens for nighttime/star photography, and a 100-400 RF lens for more distant work. The R7 is a crop sensor, so the 100-400 acts more like a 500 on the high end. For macro, I have a Sigma 100 f2.8 macro, a Canon ex650 speed light, and some diffusers. Manfrotto tripods with different ball heads (still getting settled on which ball head is more controllable. I always have at least 1 spare battery, a lens cleaning kit, and some extra memory cards "just in case".Feedback
Manufactured action shots are great... not hard to set up, but it will require patience to get the picture you're thinking about. Think days, not minutes, and hundreds of shots to get one or two. This is one of the better ways to get a 'large' splash, but any colors will not come out very well. For more colorful variations: 1 - try THICK food coloring, 2 - consider a mechanism, like a Pluto trigger, or even some flexible tubing, so you get get the droplets in a predictable place, and a predictable timing. One thing I didn't try that day was adding Xantham gum to the water. Some people have done that to make the splash look 'smoother', but I was going for a more realistic look. Really, control is the key feature for something like this.. good light angles, and consistent droplets (or, in my case, similar stones).
