Have water, will drop. Trying to capture water drops.
Written by timsdd on October 10th, 2008 in Photography, Water Drops.
Have water, will drop. Trying to capture water drops.
The first time I tried capturing water drops I failed horribly…well, it wasn’t pretty or what I envisioned let’s put it that way.
To quote a favorite saying of mine…I was doing it wrong! Each subsequent time I have attempt shooting water drops, I have gained experience and progressed in my ‘skill’.
2 days ago I did another set of drops but it had been such a long time since I shot them the last time…I was a little rusty. Namely I did not change the power settings in my flash units to 1/2 power so that I could take more shots in less time.
I was also trying something different in the dish setup where the drops were landing. It came out “ok” but there was an unattended consequence of the drops being too dark…not enough contrast between the drops and the water.
I did get a lot of interesting formations though. But as far as capturing that “10″ of a water drop, I think I need to keep trying.
I shot 4GB worth of images, of the 300+ captures only ~100 made the cut and even then I got down to 77 after closer inspection. Here are 8 of the 77, (more to come).
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October 11th, 2008 at 9:48 am
[...] aka Tim’s Digital Darkroom Photograhy, Time-Lapse Video, and more! Have water, will drop. Trying to capture water drops. » Have water, will drop. Trying to capture water drops [...]
October 12th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Wow, some of them almost seem to come to life. I especially like 2,5 & 6. My only problem is getting water splashed on the camera as I have to get so close to the subject.
Sires last blog post..So, Have You Been Stumbled Or Not?
October 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
They remind me of the terminator, like T2 when he melts & reforms….the drops are rising out of the water to kill me or at the very least get my camera wet. I have the same issue. I am about a foot from the drop zone but I imagine for you it’s even worse.
October 12th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Yeah, try about an inch……way too close but not the same effect if using zoom instead of macro.
Sires last blog post..Can You See The Human Apparition In This Splash Of Water
October 12th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
y, that’s wicked close. no wonder you were getting some splash back! it would be tough using the zoom like that since they do not focus in the same manner as the macro setting on those types of cameras…
October 12th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Yep, but it’s the thrill of the chase, so to speak. I can’t wait to try with the flash. Although my wife won’t admit it I reckon I do my best work in the dark
Sires last blog post..Can You See The Human Apparition In This Splash Of Water
October 13th, 2008 at 10:17 am
HEYYYYO! best work in the dark, that’s a good one
Part of the fun too is trying to improve the process…which reminds me, I need to build a new bottle for my drops!
October 13th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Bottle, what a novel idea. I just play with the tap.
Sires last blog post..Can You See The Human Apparition In This Splash Of Water
October 15th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I am not going to knock with with the tap! It’s probably a lot more consistent than my bottle!
What you need to look up is Mariotte Siphon or Mariotte bottle. This is the key to dripping as told to me by another photographer friend of mine.
I need to make a new one though, my 2L coke bottle and McDonalds straws are not very constant!!! But certainly better than what I was doing before, an inverted water bottle!
October 15th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
What have you got me into Tim. I am hooked on this splash BS lol. Reckon I may have to come up with my own drop system that I can market later to all us drop fanatics.
Need a decent camera though as I am constantly wiping the drops off the lens.
Sires last blog post..Can You See The Human Apparition In This Splash Of Water
October 15th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Oh no! HOOKED!
Sorry about that 
.
I don’t know what to tell you as far as the camera getting wet. Not sure if you could stick a piece of lexxan plastic in front of it? that might jack with the clarity of the shots though.
October 15th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Just another hurdle in the life of a photographer Tim.
Sires last blog post..The Meaning Of Life In A Poem
October 20th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
You can spell HURL without hurdle! or something like that!