simple water drops.

[jasonyates]

Some great pictures in this post. I couldn't resist having a go. I used a D90 with a 55-200mm lense & a SB-600 fired using CLS, some imagination & some food colouring. The whole set is visble here Water Droplets - a set on Flickr

[CanonRebelz]

Originally Posted by jasonyates

Some great pictures in this post. I couldn't resist having a go. I used a D90 with a 55-200mm lense & a SB-600 fired using CLS, some imagination & some food colouring. The whole set is visble here Water Droplets - a set on Flickr

Ah! Food coloring. Wonderful.

Originally Posted by fantasmic2tek

I think the picture at the beginning of the thread has the correct items you would need. However use your imagination.

Yeah probably. I'll try to.

[cbpix]

There are a lot of really cool photos on this thread. Cool idea with the dye too!

I've got a feeling this is my next project.

[Galgo]

Sorry for not having a picture of my setup.
Nikon D80, 18-135mm lens, remote SB-600 (using CLS) bounced on a sheet of A4 paper.
I dripped water from a plastic bag to a glass I placed in a silver tray filled with water.

[Tom Taylor]

It didn't work well for me when I tried!

[perolord]

Hello all. I am pretty much new in photography. For the start i bought myself canon sx 10 is. So i tried to do water drops but i see i got it all wrong.. i got my camera close to the water =).... and out of 400 images not a single is sharp... the momentum is pretty good but the picture is not sharp, not even close to sharp.

So please, can anyone tell me which settings on camera to use... i dont know, i didnt get a sharp image in any settings.. so i am a bit disapointet.

You are more than welcome ot check my photo blog, but its in Slovenian language =). Feel free to leave a comment too. I am still learning.

Have a greta day all of you.
I hope you can see it in signature.

[perolord]

Here it is. Sorry.

[arlon]

You have to use manual focus and prefocus on some object where the drops fall. Then remove the focus target and shoot just the drops. If your camera doesn't have a manual focus option I believe this is nearly impossible. With an AF camera, the AF is so slow that getting the timing right will just never happen.

One possibility (untried) for a camera with no manual focus..
1. Set up a focus target where the drop is going to fall. Hold something like a pencil where you need the camera to focus. Might help to have a partner do this.

2. Once the camera focuses where you want it, hold the shutter half way to lock the focus/exposure.

3. time the drop and finish the shot.

Using manual focus it never takes me more than a dozen shots to be on target. I also use as small an aperture as I can to get more DOF. Shutter speed is unimportant. That's why I shoot in a VERY dim room, just enough light to see the drop. I want ALL of the exposure to come from the flash. Shutter can be quite slow and the flash will freeze the drop perfectly. I also use a telephoto lens like 200mm so I don't have to be so close to the drops.

On my drops I'm doing everything in manual mode, even the flash is on it's lowest manual setting that will get the exposure. Lower the flash power the shorter the flash duration and sharper the drop images will appear.
Good luck..

[perolord]

Hey. Ty for explanation. I have MF on my camera.. si can try, but still i dont understand the whole MF thing or how does it work, i tried it with MF, but no luck, not sharp image.. even more blured.. I guess i just need to play with that and read manuals again with MF section.

[arlon]

Originally Posted by perolord

Here it is. Sorry.

After looking at the picture, try shooting in a darker room. Room is too bright and letting the camera "see" the drop. There is just too much outside light hitting the drop. Also try using smaller aperture if you can set that manually. EXIF says your shot was at f2.8 (depth of field is too shallow), I'd try pushing that to at least f8, f11 would even be better.