First steps into macro world

fmarek · Post by **fmarek** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 10:49 am

Here is my best but not very good shot of drop ready to fall down.

Aynia · Post by **Aynia** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:00 am

oops forbidden when I click on the bigger version!

I quite like the reflection at the bottom of the drop whatever it is. Background is clean too....
A few bright bits but they don't bother me.

I've never managed to get great shots of water dropping!

Curiosity speaking... what kit did you use?

fmarek · Post by **fmarek** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:04 am

Just removed broken link to bigger version

fmarek · Post by **fmarek** » Wed Dec 24, 2008 11:08 am

I used Sony Alpha 350 with 100mm macro lens.

100mm, F/5.6, ISO 200, 1/125 sec. with build in flash. Manual focus.
It wasn't easy to catch the drop, but I will keep trying

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 8:14 am

Hi,

You may be interested in these links on water drop photography:-

http://digital-photography-school.com/f ... hp?t=10164

http://www.popphoto.com/howto/2508/you- ... drops.html

http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2 ... drops.html

http://www.hypergurl.com/blog/photograp ... ashes.html

http://www.digitalfieldguide.com/blog/556

http://www.wonderfulphotos.com/articles/macro/dewdrops/

http://www.soothbrush.com/catching-wate ... ng-photos/

DaveW

fmarek · Post by **fmarek** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 10:29 am

Thanks and Merry Christmas

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 10:29 am

fmarek, welcome aboard!

I find myself intrigued by this water drop, and I want to know more of the story behind it.

Where was this drop? What are the surroundings? What are those small white spots in the drop itself?

--Rik

fmarek · Post by **fmarek** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:33 pm

It is very simple story - I just wanted to find out how difficult is to catch drops into focus

Yes it was hard. Just fiew pictures after half of an hour or so..

And another one:

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:41 pm

You can probably crop that image in post processing a bit more without loosing too much quality for the web and give it even more impact since it will enlarge the reflections in the drop, which is where the interest is.

I would crop it to portrait rather than landscape mode then re-size to about 600 pixels vertically and let the width set itself.

DaveW

fmarek · Post by **fmarek** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 3:48 pm

Thanks for the advice, tried to follow

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 2:56 am

Yes, that certainly increases it's impact.

DaveW

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:05 am

I was searching the Web and found this additional site for water drop photography.

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/11 ... raphy.html

DaveW

augusthouse · Post by **augusthouse** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:02 am

Thanks DaveW,

The images on the link in the previous post are remarkable.

Craig

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 11:42 am

augusthouse wrote:The images on the link in the previous post are remarkable.

Yes, wonderful images!

Also interesting to note that one of the featured photographers is Fotoopa, the same fellow who did the fancy insects-in-flight controller with crossed lasers and custom mechanical shutter.

--Rik

DaveW · Post by **DaveW** » Sun Jan 18, 2009 4:59 am

Sometimes the equipment used is high tech, but it can be done low tech too.

Years ago, in my film days, I did try it without much success as I made a trigger to fire my flash from a straightened out paper clip, a bit of fuse wire and one granule of expanded polystyrene as a float just pulled off a bit of that granular polystyrene packaging, plus one of those little plastic cable joining blocks. The fuse-wire was bent at the end and stuck into the polystyrene granule that acted as a float in the liquid. The paperclip (or any stiffer wire) was bent across just above the fuse wire so any upward movement caused by the splash made contact with it and so completed the circuit and fired the flash as shown in the rough detail below.

I think I connected somehow into the end of a flash extension cord. The camera was used on open flash (shutter open on bulb) in a darkened room. The problem was I found it only fired once and then the two wires stuck together. I could not understand this at first until I realised that the spark as they joined was actually electric welding them together! I am not an electronics bod but possibly a capacitor in the circuit as they used to have to stop distributor auto sparks jumping the points and pitting them might of solved this problem?

Does anybody know of cheap flash triggers being sold. There used to be one in the UK in the 1970's that had attachments for audio, light beam and vibration triggering, but it seems to have disappeared now.

Dave Whiteley