Post Your Water Droplets

With the weather turning to crap on us over the last week or so, I was looking for something to shoot for my 365 a few days ago. I had come across a video of a remarkable group of water droplet photos and thought I would give it a go. I had taken a few droplet shots before, but more in an accidental way than anything. I've spent the last couple of days experimenting with set ups, containers, lighting, etc. Catching a single droplet rising out of the still water in a tower form at just the right moment has proven rather easy. What has been driving me batty is catching the second droplet crashing into the tower as it rises up. This is sooooooo much harder than I had ever given it thought to be. I see the major artists creating the most stunning pics are using high tech and high speed timing rigs that automatically drop the water and release the shutter/trigger the flash all in a programmed sequence. Awesome results they have achieved. Doing it all by hand and eye … not so much. Below are a few more from today. Let's see what you all have as well! Post up those water droplets!!

I tried it too last year David and I can see why they have such intricate systems of drop delivery etc. To be honest i found it extremely frustrating and thought the only thing I was doing was wearing my camera out. For 400 shots maybe 1 keeper

anyway....

Beautiful! I tried these myself a while ago, but I don't have a macro lens, and the results were not so satisfying.

Anyway, here it is. I used milk instead of water, but I hope you don't mind.

I haven't tried any lately. With 2yr old running around. Not a good thing.

Here's a version of one I did last week.




Using other liquids like milk make a difference to the droplet shape.
Also the container shape and the water depth and especially the water temperature make a big difference.
Colder the better.

Doing it manually sure does take a lot of patience but you can automate it a without spending too much.

Must say, all excellent shots.

Nice shots so far, everyone! Keep 'em coming.

Had to shoot a few more tonight. Needed something for my 365 since I had such a long work day …. plus I'm determined to catch a real keeper eventually!!

Nice set of shots every one,they must be like snow flakes,no two the same.

I was out on my front porch a few days ago during a rain storm and I noticed the drops in the bird bath... so I snapped a few off and here are the results...

*david*hopper* said:

Nice shots so far, everyone! Keep 'em coming.

Had to shoot a few more tonight. Needed something for my 365 since I had such a long work day …. plus I'm determined to catch a real keeper eventually!!

Click to expand...

Are you using straight tap water David? or have you thickened it? I bought some glycerin and thickened the water a bit. I should have thickened it more but it still helped.

I also got an IV giving set from a nurse friend and that was perfect for regulating the drops. Still didn't win tho

Vixen said:

Are you using straight tap water David? or have you thickened it? I bought some glycerin and thickened the water a bit. I should have thickened it more but it still helped.

I also got an IV giving set from a nurse friend and that was perfect for regulating the drops. Still didn't win tho

Click to expand...

So far, V, I have only used straight spring water from a gallon jug out of my shop fridge to keep it cold. I saw a guy in Germany was using a thickened water, but it didn't say with what. Thanks for the heads up on glycerin. I'll have to look for some at the local hobby shop. I'll be trying a different bottle dropping system this weekend sometime. Might help make it more consistent.

Here's a couple from today while stuck indoors during another blizzard.

Dusting this old thread off.