First post - Hello.. and C&C please

[Smokinloads]

Hi

I've been lurking for a while, finally decided to say hello and post a couple of my shots.

I know water drops are a bit over done these days, but I kinda got bitten by the bug and figured I'd share and ask for critique.

1.



2.



3.

 

[MLeeK]

They're gorgeous! Welcome to the group!

 

[tirediron]

Welcome to TPF - very nice shots; I especially like #3!

 

[FanBoy]

These are great. You should take four photos with different colors and group them in a montage...and give it as a gift to...your plumber.

 

[Smokinloads]

Thanks for the feedback.

I've been messing around with water drops manually for the last couple of months... and was getting some reasonable results, but was disappointed that I'd never do some of the really spectacular shots without some specialist equipment.

I didn't want to fork out lots just on water drops, but I figured I'd put to use the electronic engineering quals I got 20 years ago

I guess it works.

I like the idea of a montage - might have a go at that a bit later.

 

[J_T]

So how did you do this? Just wondering... haha

 

[timor]

Nice entry into the forum ! Thumbs up.

 

[aavivi]

Agreed with all of the above, Welcome to the forum, and nice way to make a splash... for the montage, I'd recommend adding a black/white water drop.

 

[Smokinloads]

How it's done...
Well, there are a few people who have done write ups on the interweb in great detail - suggest googling 'water drop photography' or 'water collision photography'

Briefly, it's all about colliding one drop with another.
When your first drop hits the water it bounces back out, straight up. You send a second drop down to hit it on it's way up.
You have to time your flash to trigger just as the collision occurs.

Sounds simple, but the whole sequence happens in about 1/3 of a second and you have to time the release and size of the drops down to a few milliseconds... so a little electronic assistance is required - you can buy kits for a few hundred dollars that will do it for you... I'm tight so decided to make my own

 

[Smokinloads]

Had a go at the montage......

 

[binga63]

i like the montage ...

 

[FanBoy]

Great job with the montage. I especially like the emerald green shade. Experiment around and let the color wheel--and your gut instinct--be your guide as a final selection for your montage.

Photographing the water drop collision process seems tedious, but I think you've done a fantastic job. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.