Water Drop Magnified

[Canyon Hiker]

I posted this in the "projects" board but was curious as to what you guys thought. It took alot of trial and error. There is no editing other than cropping,levels and sharpening. Any critiuques are appreciated.



Below is my high tech work station I used



Darin

[DLB1973]

Nice work Darin. Love the colors and the detail.

[PhilF]

how many takes did you shoot to get this shot?

[frog4gators]

Very nice... What were your settings? I also enjoy trying different types of photography.

[rylan]

Awesome!

Thanks for sharing the set up shots! I love those!

[Old Timer]

Outstanding image. Thanks for sharing your setup.

[Jay C]

Looks really good, love the color. Thanks for posting your setup.

[cozmocha]

I like the idea of using CD's as reflectors for the added color. Where did you get that idea?

[Canyon Hiker]

Thanks everyone,

PhilF, It took about 300 shots to finally get the camera angle lined up with to magnify the flower and still get the reflection of the DVD. Using the zip lock bag with a small pinhole for the water drop made focusing much easier than any of my previous failed attemts from a facet. Once the bag stabilizes the drop will land in the same spot every time. I used a small screwdriver and poked it in the water directly where the water was dripping into the tray and manually focused (live view) on where the screwdriver met the top of the water.The aperture didn't really matter as far as dof is concerned. I wanted a blurry background flower so I used the maximum aperture the lens would allow and this helped keep the shutter at around 500 without puping up the iso to 800 and creating noise. Shooting RAW allowed me to underexpose the shot with the poor lighting I was useing. An easy levels adjustment in any photo program correct the exposure.

frog4gators here is the exif for the image:
File Name IMG_6815tif.jpg
Camera Model Name Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
Shooting Date/Time 3/22/2010 12:08:41 PM
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/640
Av (Aperture Value) 5.6
ISO Speed 400
Image Size 800x509
Flash Off
Color Space sRGB
File Size 72 KB
Owner's Name


cozmocha..I was trying to think of something that was reflective with lots of color, somewhere in my house. I happen to glance down at the back of a DVD+R on my desk and saw the reflection from the light above.

Thanks again,
Darin

[n8]

as it's been said, cool use of the cd/dvd as a reflector. I've thought of using them for something, but never put it into action. good to see what the result would be.

[daq7]

It is so brilliant, I do believe I will go and hang myself.

[Frog]

I admit I've never tried to shoot a water drop because...well its become redundant though it makes good practice.
When I opened the link, I was expecting another water drop in a sink or falling from a leaf which in the latter can be quite lovely
As I scrolled down, however, my attention was immediately grabbed by the colors and the focus on the drop.
Thank you for your creative work.
I do think the bg, other than the flower can be improved on. The tubing on the right and the blue there also need replacing. I know it would take a lot of experimenting and trial and error but I'd like to see something more psychedelic to go with the flower.

[daq7]

We need a shot of a water drop: Tears of a virgin falling into a glass of vodka. That should be the next project.

I would do it myself, but while I am acquainted with vodka, I am no longer a virgin. Nor do I know any. As far as I know....

[gmaschreiber]

What an awesome shot. Great idea. Thanks for sharing how you did it.

[GB1]

Darin - I've always wanted to try this! I'm too tired to read the technical details right now, but I have to give this a go this spring sometime. Your results seem to freeze the drop quite well, though I think the red flower background is a bit intense (but to each their own).

G

[dave23]

Very nice, good work! will have to try something like this.

[Dubbs5050]

really great shot....I am not sure what I am more impressed with, the actual image, or the creativity that went into the set! Great work!

[clayhaus]

Very creative use of light and treatment (and props). I love the velvety feel of the water. The flower is a nice touch but I find the placement of it a bit distracting. Same with the blue glows in the background. Not sure what the answer would have been...maybe a couple of flowers framing the the drop? Great perseverance and now you have the techniques down for the next try!. Thanks much for also sharing your workshop details.