Wine Drops

[rick55]

I've finally gotten to working with a different liquid: wine. Cheap wine, of course, about $5 US per bottle.

I moved two flashes out in front, left and right of the camera, and left one shooting at the background reflector. The first thing to notice is that when the splash or drop is very thin, it just looks clear. I'll have to try dialing down the backlight, see if I can get more color.

C&C always appreciated.

Cheers,
Rick

In the Air


Coronet


Collision 1


Collision 2

[CNelson]

All nice shots, second to last is my favorite.

Chuck

[rick55]

One more: I turned off the flash that was shooting at the background, so the backlight is purely spill from the flashes in front. Better lighting, I think, but I still want to cut the backlight more. Maybe a gray reflector?

Cheers,
Rick

Collision 3

[Stinky]

That collison #3 is great. Almost flat on the top. Good job.

[rick55]

Thanks, Chuck, Steve.
Cheers,
Rick

[Donald]

Cheap wine, of course, about $5 US per bottle.

Thank goodness for that. Check out my interests on my profile page!

[rick55]

Thank goodness for that. Check out my interests on my profile page!

I was surprised that it actually isn't undrinkable: it's a bit better than the miniature bottles you get in aircraft economy class. Of course, that probably says something (bad) about my palate, if I find those not undrinkable.

If I had a wedding on the horizon in a year or so, I'd be tempted to get a couple dozen. I think that after a year, it would probably be about as good as you'd expect to get at a large event.

Cheers,
Rick

[Donald]

Now that I'm home and seeing the images on my home screen, I can say something about them. As previouly written, I'm in awe of you guys producing these droplet images. Wonderful stuff.

The last one you posted, Rick - Collision 3 - doesn't have the same visual impact for me as those in the earlier post. I won't even attempt to comment about the technical aspects of lighting etc., as this is way outside my comfort zone. But in terms of simple 'appeal' I find there's a less balanced tone across the image - from from to back. The transition from darker to lighter tone is, I think, greater and 'harder' than in the others.

But they're all still superb. And yes, a $5 bottle can do fine if you're not needing to match up with a nice juicy steak on a evening when you're dining by candlelight!

[rick55]

The last one you posted, Rick - Collision 3 - doesn't have the same visual impact for me as those in the earlier post. I won't even attempt to comment about the technical aspects of lighting etc., as this is way outside my comfort zone. But in terms of simple 'appeal' I find there's a less balanced tone across the image - from from to back. The transition from darker to lighter tone is, I think, greater and 'harder' than in the others.

Thanks, Donald: I do see what you mean: I was trying to bring up the red by decreasing the backlight. More play is needed.

But they're all still superb. And yes, a $5 bottle can do fine if you're not needing to match up with a nice juicy steak on a evening when you're dining by candlelight!

Beaujolais Villages is great with a hamburger, despite what the "wine with anything" books say.

Cheers,
Rick

[JK6065]

Rick
very beautiful colours and superb captures. The collisions are beautiful.

About the light, I don't like #5 that much because of the very harsh reflections in the water. For me flashing from the background works well if I make sure that the flash is pointing at the same angle on the water as the camera is. Then I get nice smooth light with even reflections because of the light bouncing of the water straight in the lens.

Here is Corrie White's set-up in which she gets awesome results with very nice lighting. The frosted glass seems to work very well, but I haven't tried this set-up myself (short on equipment )

And one more thing: Did you use an entirely black room to shoot? The first one suffers a bit from motion blur, (the second is also not completely frozen). I think it would look better if you did.

I think you tackled the timing issue very well and it pays off for sure!

[rick55]

Rick
very beautiful colours and superb captures. The collisions are beautiful.

About the light, I don't like #5 that much because of the very harsh reflections in the water. For me flashing from the background works well if I make sure that the flash is pointing at the same angle on the water as the camera is. Then I get nice smooth light with even reflections because of the light bouncing of the water straight in the lens.

Thanks, Jeroen. For the fifth one, I turned off the backlight entirely, to try to get better colors.

Here is Corrie White's set-up in which she gets awesome results with very nice lighting. The frosted glass seems to work very well, but I haven't tried this set-up myself (short on equipment )

I could try frosted glass, but I would expect this to be equivalent to putting a white reflector behind the tray, and bouncing a flash off it.

And one more thing: Did you use an entirely black room to shoot? The first one suffers a bit from motion blur, (the second is also not completely frozen). I think it would look better if you did.

I had effectively a dark room. If I fire the camera with the flashes off, the display is dead black. I think the reason for the motion blur is that I had to turn up the flashes some. Speedlite duration is about 1/8,000s at 1/8 power. If the drop is about 1/8 inch in diameter, which is the internal dimension of my tube (it may be a bit bigger), then it will move about 15% of its diameter in 1/8,000s, after falling from 26 in. I need to figure out how to get good light with lower flash levels, to freeze it better. I can add more flashes in front, maybe have a gray background.

I also want to try an umbrella with the flash farther away, see if I can get it to fall off smoother.

Cheers,
Rick