Water drop reflections...

[OldClicker]

I'm starting a project to capture reflections in water drops. Has anyone done this? Any hints? I think that a slow, constant drip would be better than trying to use a single drop. Any ideas on what to use for a drip? Medical saline bag? TIA, TF

[byjamesderuvoDHQ]

I'd start with static. Drops on a branch, for instance. Sitting still you can image your reflections, control the light and the reflection, etc. And then once you're happy with the static shots, then you can attempt a slow, but steady drip. And while the reflection is your goal, you'll still have the rest of the picture, even if blurry, having a more interesting background would be as important.

There's a few ideas - here.

[BlueRob]

No clue but I must say it does sound interesting...cant wait to see the results.

[WesternGuy]

Old Clicker, is this something you want to do inside in a studio environment, or outside when it is raining and water is dripping off the branches and leaves of trees, etc, and with a macro lens?

Are you looking to capture that "crown" effect as drops of liquid fall into a dish of the liquid? Give us an idea of what you are trying to do and maybe someone can chime in with some ideas. HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[Frog]

If setting up the shot, would adding glycerin to the water, help slow the water down so that the drop stays steady longer?

[mjs1973]

"Reflections" in the title makes it sound like you want stationary drops, but your description of a "slow, constant drip" makes me think you want to take photos of the drops as they splash. These are 2 very different things.

I have done a few photos of stationary drops where the background is reflected in the drop. I set these up in my office on a table so there would be no wind. A good macro set up will help you get in close to focus on the drops. I used my 100mm macro plus 68mm worth of extension tubes to get the image I wanted. Here is a thread where I posted some of my images, as well as a photo of my setup.

Rain Drops

Frogs suggestion of adding glycerin is a good one. If you have glycerin, you man not even need water. I also bought a couple of eye droppers so I can place a drop where I want it. It the photos in the thread I linked to I used a small spray bottle and that's why there are so many drops.

If you're looking for drops of water as they splash you are talking more about high speed photography. Most of the images I have seen like this are done with high speed strobes. I have always wanted to try it, but haven't done it yet.

Good luck.

[armando_m]

I have photographed drops splashing on standing water,

I did it with a strong light pointed at an angle to water on a red tray, the camera was placed so the light reflection is on the lens
this gives the waves and drops a lot more contrast, also allows me to use smaller aperture and higher speed on ISO 200

It helps if you have a slow steady stream of drops, falling on a defined spot so yor focus and DOF are constant
it can be done with a plastic bag of water held over the stainding water, and punch the bag with a pin.

Place an object at the spot where drops will fall, then focus and then set the focus to manual, remove the object used to focus

I set the camera to multiple exposures
start the drop stream
and start taking pictures

Unless you have very sophisticated equipment, you need more chance and some patience to obtain a good image.

I believe the setup described by mjs1973, is more preparation than chance.

Here is the image I liked best :
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2440/...b8fd7462a2.jpg
Taken with the kit lens at 55mm, f8, 1/1000 , ISO 200

It is a lot of fun !

[OldClicker]

I want the image of just a single drop hanging with the reflection in the drop more like Mike's (mjs1973) second set in his link above. (Though I guess it is actually diffraction with the image showing through the drop, correct?)

I’m going to do it inside with a set up something like Mike did.

I was thinking of using a very slow flow to constantly make new drops rather than having to try to ‘build’ just a single drop.

Mike, did you try lighting other than the single, very diffuse side light shown? In the shots, it looks like you get a blurred reflection of the light on the right side and a sharp refracted image on the left. Did you try spotting the light just on the flower?

TF

[mjs1973]

If I remember correctly (it was over a year ago) the side light shown in the photo was my main light source. I most likely had the overhead room light on as well, but that didn't add much. Based on the exposure time of several seconds I would say that was all the light I used. There may have been a little ambient light coming in from the windows as well.

I didn't try spotting the light or using flash at all.

[mjs1973]

If you're looking for some inspiration to make some water drop images, check out this site.

http://www.lightstalking.com/water-droplet-photographs

[OldClicker]

Very nice - thanks. I'm still working on it and hope to have some results soon. - TF

[mjs1973]

Just came across this blog post with some interesting insights into creating these types of photos. You may find the info here helpful.

http://stephenelliot.com/2007/05/16/...ps-and-tricks/

[mjs1973]

After reading that blog I posted a link to earlier, I thought I would give it a try. Shot hand held, 1/20 sec f/5 ISO 800, 100mm macro lens with flash mounted on the camera with a small softbox. Flash set to ETTL -1.

[OldClicker]

Thanks, Mike, I had read that site. I found it as frustrating as he did. Here is my progress so far.

Update on the water drop project...

TF

[Bhrajesh Raval]

how good is renox 150 for macro images..pl guide ,,