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Water Droplets, Attempt Two

Creative Project

Here we go again!

As you may know, I spent many hours not too long ago trying to photograph water droplets. After the whole ordeal I was not feeling particularly successful. But today I gave it a new shot, with a new strategy. My setup this time was much simpler this time and I spent less than an hour, which I would say is good.

This time I did not use a tripod, and for the best results I did not even fill up a sink with water, though that still produced some great results. The trick I found was to use a flash attachment. I use a Canon Rebel 300d and a Canon Speedlite 420EX flash, I admit not the newest or best equipment. But with this, along with my loving fish-eye lens, I went to work. For the photo you see here, I laid a metal ruler (a 3 foot ruler, so it is wider than a normal ruler) across the sink so that when the faucet was set to a drip, the drips landed in the center of the ruler. I then made my environment relatively dark, the darker the better I think but it is best to make enough light so that you can focus properly. That was it, just zoom in close on where the drops land and make sure your flash is charged and shoot away. I found that my lens was covered in water splashes many times so make sure to clean it off frequently, or the drops on your lens might show up unwanted on your images.

About the Author

Nicholas Klein

Founder and visual artist, specializing in all aspects of a businesses presence from imagery and video to graphics and web. A graduate of IPFW with a Bachelor in Fine Arts, Concentration Photography as well as an Associates Degree in Business. His personal photography works are focused on landscape, travel, and aerial photography.