that's how it starts just a simple hobby and then you get hooked I actually went through very long periods of being disinterested in photography. It wasn't until a friend of mine really got into it that my fire was rekindled...so definitely dust off that camera last one of the edited pics I have done:
Could you share some hints and tips on what a person should do in case he/she is interested in starting to do this? Thank in advance!
Canon Digital Rebel XTi, 24-105/4L lens, Sigma DG 500 Flash The faster the camera the better. The XTi can shoot 3fps up to 10 shots (RAW) before the buffer fills. The hardest part was figuring out something that would continuously drip water into a pool. Some people I know have just used their kitchen sink! Makes sense, that way you have control over the faucet. I fiddled around several times before I took a water bottle, inverted it, and crudely mounted it to a stand by which it would release the water and fall into a clear pyrex glass bowl. Then you pretty much have to guess on the focus, figure out where the drops will land and try and position the lens to focus on that point(using manual focus)...I sometime use my finger to get a point of reference. The idea then with the camera setting is to get the shutter speed very high to freeze the action. I think I was using 1/320s or 1/400s. IN order to do that you need a vary large Aperture (Small F#). The lens I was using only goes to F/4. The trade off with a large aperture is that you will get a shallow DOF (Depth of Field) and so it might not render the entire scene in focus. I also use a external flash set manually to 1/128th power to ensure I can get it to fire 10 times in 3 seconds. Once the water is dripping I use a wired remote to actuate the shutter, set the motor to continuous drive and let it fire off 9-10 shots in a row. Obviously the setup, control, and pretty much the entire process is heavily driven by trial and error. Like trying to capture lightning, you might only get 1 good shot out of 10. ____________________________ questions?
Thanks man! I have copied your post to a notepad file for the future. First things first, I have to equip myself with a nice camera like yours. I hope that you will keep posting photos when you have some done.
, this is one instance where a DSLR would be the best option. You could try with a small P&S but the success ratio might be much smaller. you bet, I'll keep posting! I need one of those! Actually I have 2 small "book lights" that I'll use sometimes with my 'super macros' but I need something that has a better spread than the flash I think. I do have a set of hot lights though, I just need to fine tune them to work for this application. and TYVM! I like taking pics almost as much as posting on DP ;-)
Once again you have outdone yourself. I wonder what will be the next post of photos like. Always waiting with anticipation for your next post.
thanks next batch should be better b/c I changed the lighting so that I could 1/2 the shutter speed thus allowing me to freeze the action even more; & I got even closer
Trying a different setup here - different camera body for one (30D, a loaner), getting closer to where I want to be with it
I learned something about doing water....shutter speed is not important...the flash is what matters! I was under the impression it was the other way around!
Nice pics - you can see where you're heading - the last ones are really clear. Quite magical, good work
You are an awesome photographer.Sometime these real pictures look more elegant than artificial images.Keep up these good works.Share more natural beauties with us.