Digital Camera World - UK (2021-03)

72 DIGITAL CAMERA^ MARCH 2021 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

Camera

College

Few home photography projects

require you to channel your inner

Henri Cartier-Bresson as much as water-

drop and splash photography. Capturing

the moment a droplet hits a pool of water

below it needs the same feel for finding

‘the decisive moment’ that features in

street or sports photography.

To freeze the elegant and interesting

shapes formed when the water splashes,

you’ll also need patience, a powerful light

(in the form of an off-camera flashgun)

and some way of creating drops that have

a reasonably predictable frequency. There is

a range of commercially available electronic

options that give you control over the size

and timing of the drops, but you can achieve

a lot with a simple home set-up.

A plastic bottle or bag with a pinhole in

the base, suspended above a bowl, tray or

glass of water is all you need to get started.

A bottle will be easier to refill without

disturbing your set-up, and you can regulate

the flow with a piece of electrical tape. You

can also go for something which allows for

manual adjustment of the drop rate, such

as a pipette or a small syringe attached

to a piece of plastic tubing. The crucial

thing is to make sure that the drops

fall in the same place each time.

Try experimenting with different liquids,

too. Full-fat milk and emulsion paint have

a higher viscosity than water, and this will

alter both the flow rate and the shapes

of your splashes. Adding xanthan gum

to water will also create a more viscous

solution that retains its transparency

and can be lit from behind.

The container you choose for the drops

to fall into can also affect the characteristics

of the shapes created by the drop. Try

switching from a smaller, deeper glass or jar

to a shallower tray, and see which effect you

prefer. If you want to capture the reflection

of the splash, you’ll need a container that’s

large enough to avoid including its edge

when you frame your shot.

You can use any close-focusing lens for

these types of images, but a macro lens

gives you the freedom to get particularly

close, and means that you don’t have to

crop the end result as much. Don’t get

too close, though, unless your camera

gear is sealed and waterproof.

Marcus

Hawkins

Photographer and

writer Marcus is a

former editor of

Digital Camera.

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Get started in water-

drop photography

Make a splash with your photography, with the help of

this guide to setting up a simple home studio, and the

essential techniques you need to create liquid art

Left: A pristine water-drop photo like this

might seem impossible to achieve, but it’s

surprisingly easy to achieve at home.