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B+W

Water droplets make fascinating patterns

if you move in close and fill the frame. After

a bout of rain, go outside with your camera

and look for raindrops. Your car will be

covered in them and so will every leaf, flower

and blade of grass in your garden. Water

droplets created by rainfall or condensation

also gather on windows, which you can then

backlight to reveal interesting patterns.

If you can’t find watery patterns, create

your own by spraying water on to a suitable

surface using a plant mister. As well as

patterns of droplets, also look for a single

drop of water dangling precariously from

the end of a leaf or petal.

If you want to get in really close,

a lifesize (1:1) macro lens will be required.

Alternatively, fit extension tubes or cheaper

supplementary close-up lenses to a standard

50mm lens or standard zoom so you can

focus down to just a few centimetres.

The appearance and mood of water

is determined by the time of day and

prevailing weather conditions. In sunny

weather under clearer skies, rivers,

lakes and the sea tend to look very blue,

whereas on a cloudy day they appear grey

and drab. Early or late in the day, water

takes on an attractive warm cast while

at sunrise and, more likely, sunset, it can

shimmer like liquid gold. Colour is of no

real relevence when your end goal is a

monochrome image, but it does alter the

tone of the water when you convert the

image so it needs to be considered.

The position of the sun also plays

an important role. When it’s almost

overhead around midday a glassy, highly

reflective finish is produced, with lots of

tiny highlights dancing on the water’s

surface. But during the morning or

afternoon, when the sun is at a low angle,

light rakes across the water’s surface,

texture is revealed and you get much

better results.

9 MOVE IN CLOSE

10 GET THE LIGHT RIGHT

PINGVELLIR, ICELAND

Never one to miss a photo opp, this close-up of raindrops on an aluminium table was captured

outside a café in Iceland. The customers inside thought me and my workshop group were bonkers,

but they couldn’t see what we could see!

Canon EOS 5D MKIII with 24-70mm lens, 1/320sec at f/8, ISO 400

ILE AUX CERFS, MAURITIUS

Light and weather totally define the mood of water. In this scene

it looks dark and threatening due to the storm clouds gathering

overhead, yet behind me was a tropical beach scene of sublime beauty!

Canon EOS 5D MKIII with 17-40mm lens, 1/250sec at f/8, ISO 100

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