First attempt at splash photography

Fussyfez

Fussyfez

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Inspired by threads on here, I've had a little play and got some images that I like, even if they aren't quite as spectacular as some other examples.

Thanks for looking.

All C&C welcome.

Please click pictures for full size on Photobucket.

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


And my personal favourite, which I'm calling 'Spaceman' :

#6
 
I think you've done well for your first attempt - i have yet to try it so Im a bit limited on how I can tell you to improve - but what I <do> really like about these, is the colour and shapes that have been generated.

The only critique I can see worth giving is the sharpness. EXIF on photobucket I couldn't see the shutterspeed, as F11 should have been a decent enough aperture, lighting is good, if maybe a little over-saturated.

What speed were you shooting at? Taking photos of my little girl playing with water, 1200th of a second seemed <almost> right though i wish I could have gone up to 1500-2000th of a second. Hopefully someone can tell you what is exactly wrong, but I'd be well chuffed with those as my first attempt :clap:
 
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/photographing-water-drops

Shutter speed of 1/200s should be ok as the flash will freeze the moment .... from what I have seen which I haven't tried is to have a light behind at 45 degrees and one at the front too..

#1 is the best in this set as the others seem a little soft to me.... are you using a droplet kit to control the drops and when the shutter fires.

At the mega meet they had a company can't remember which that do the kits and you can get a discount for being a TP member I will see if i can dig out the name from the card given to me.

Though if you can find mega meet thread sure it will say there.

This is a winter project for me with smoke too...

Did you use plain water or did you put a thickener in? Milk is quite good I have heard.
 
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Thanks alot for the comments.



Was shot in my bath with plain water, with a length of paracord lashed from the shower curtain rail, holding the (de-headed) shower hose above the centre of the bath with about a 4ft drop to the bowl. I sat the bowl on a couple of plastic boxes to bring the brim just above the edge of the bath, with my camera on a tripod on the floor.


I initially tried with the 18-55, but couldn't get close enough to fill the frame enough, so switched to the 55-250mm.

All shot in pitch black, with only on camera standard flash, shot in manual at 1/200 (fastest onboard flash will allow) and playing with the f stop for depth of field (trying to keep as much of the splash in focus as possible)

I had tried in the kitchen sink with bright daylight coming through the window, but the daylight combined with the flash was giving a wierd ghosting of the splash, plus I didn't have enough momentum in the drop to get anything interesting, hence the move to the blacked out bathroom.



Here's the exifs:
#1 f8 1/200 iso 400 @250mm

#2 f11 1/200 iso 400 @250mm

#3&4 were shot in the kitchen in daylight, I won't be trying this technique again as I much prefer the dark room results.

#5 f11 1/200 iso 400 @250mm

#6 f11 1/200 iso 400 @250mm

It appears I settled on f11.


I'm not sure why they are all iso 400, can't remember if I had it set to auto or had chosen 400 earlier in the day and forgot to check /change it.


They were mostly shot with a red plastic chopping board as a back ground(some had a colourful wrapping paper but it didn't take long to get soaked) , then I played with the colours in PS touch, and adjusted the levels to bring out the shapes a little.

Here's an original :





I've got a few ideas for different viscosities just not had a chance yet. Also like the idea of adding smoke...
 
I like these water drop threads and nice attempt for a first try. What I did for my first try and done it ever since was to get a paint roller tray and a bit of paper. Fill the tray up and bounce your flash onto the bit of paper at the back of the tray. That way it lights up the water with the reflection of the paper and you can't see the container/glass through the water. It gives the surface of the water more of a solid feel to it.

The way I started dripping the water was simple. I just got a doggy jobby bag and put a pin hole in it to get a steady flow of drops. What also helps is if you put a cup under the drops until you're ready to shoot and that gives the receiving container water a chance to calm down and become flat.

If you're wanting more of a bounce to the drips try putting a bit of wash aid in the receiving container and thicken up the drips with Xanthan gum powder, it's found in any glucose free section of supermarkets. To 6mugs of water I use one teaspoon then mix it up really good. When you want to use it mix up 1mug of gum mix to another 6mugs of water and use that for your drips. the original mix can be kept in your fridge for next time.

If you have an off camera flash I suggest using that and bouncing the flash off paper like I said above. No need to do it in a dark room either unless your outside in mid-day sun.

I shot my flashes with gels on through opal perspex for these shots I took, but it gives the same effect as bouncing your flash off paper. I may have missed a lot trying to explain myself above. I get excited with water drops...yes I know, I'm sad haha.

If you got confused in any way feel free to say lol. I could go on all day about everything I used and how I've changed all my dripping equipment but it would be a 10page essay.

Keep at it, look forward to seeing more.
Bursting through by Peanut651, on Flickr
 
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Tintin124 said:
http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/photographing-water-drops

Shutter speed of 1/200s should be ok as the flash will freeze the moment .... from what I have seen which I haven't tried is to have a light behind at 45 degrees and one at the front too..

#1 is the best in this set as the others seem a little soft to me.... are you using a droplet kit to control the drops and when the shutter fires.

At the mega meet they had a company can't remember which that do the kits and you can get a discount for being a TP member I will see if i can dig out the name from the card given to me.

Though if you can find mega meet thread sure it will say there.

This is a winter project for me with smoke too...

Did you use plain water or did you put a thickener in? Milk is quite good I have heard.
Click to expand...

Phototriggers I think is the company you're on about. I was looking into them but they only make the actual triggers that fire your equipment when something passes through the sensors, you still have no control over the drips. If you want precise control over the drips you can get something called the 'splash art kit'. It times the drips perfectly for collisions and fires all your equipment to capture them. You can also adjust all the settings to fine tune the drips and type of collisions you want. £150ish for the basic plug and play kit.
 
Some good colours and neat shapes from the splashes. Some are a little soft though but still a good first attempt
 
CaveDweller said:
Phototriggers I think is the company you're on about. I was looking into them but they only make the actual triggers that fire your equipment when something passes through the sensors, you still have no control over the drips. If you want precise control over the drips you can get something called the 'splash art kit'. It times the drips perfectly for collisions and fires all your equipment to capture them. You can also adjust all the settings to fine tune the drips and type of collisions you want. £150ish for the basic plug and play kit.
Click to expand...

Hi Paul, at the demo they actually said they also sell the dripper (well done on remembering name) but they recommend you get a sleeve of shrink sleeve that you heat up to slow the drips down too... it didnt look like a homemade job as it had a particular nossle and would only allow the drops at set intervals.
 
Thanks guys, I'll have a look for the gum powder and try it out.

I'm currently eyeing up the jelly blocks in the cupboard.

That 'Bursting Through' is excellent, absolutely love it. I'm sure I have some bubble mixture somewhere:banana:



Thanks again guys, very much enjoying my new hobby! :canon:
 
Tintin124 said:
Hi Paul, at the demo they actually said they also sell the dripper (well done on remembering name) but they recommend you get a sleeve of shrink sleeve that you heat up to slow the drips down too... it didnt look like a homemade job as it had a particular nossle and would only allow the drops at set intervals.
Click to expand...

Must have made one up recently then. It has been a good few years since I spoke to them though.
 
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