At first: there are lots of other ways to do that too. Not the worst idea would be using a light-operated switch to control the cams trigger. After fine-tuning that, each shot would get perfect but as i don't have such sophisticated equipment available, good ole handywork had to do the job. Just wanted to add that to all the technicians out there :)

Hiya Mel,
i'm glad to be able to tell you the setup. Nice to be of help to others ... there's a lot to give back to helping people as you are :)

Cam with macro-lens on a tripod. A bowl of water (no dark material), the lens focussed manually on the middle (let something swim in there to get the focus). Lots of light. Really all that's available (i don't have any special studio-flashes or the like so our living room literally was bathed in light hehe) I additionally activated the cams internal flash.

Than the fun began. I took a .. hmm .. do you call it "pipette" in english too? Rubber in the back and a small glas tube taking the water? You press the air out, than by releasing the rubber the submerged tube sucks the water in which than can be pressed out again? ... you know what i mean? I hope so ... no dictionary around when i need it most ... sigh

Ok, trying to find the sharp spot in the water with the "pipette" than raising that thingie about 5", releasing one drop, pressing the cable-control of the cam almost the same time (depends on the height of the pipette (the time the drop needs to fall) - and the cam's speed) - so one drop = one shot .. with a 1Ds one may get two shots .. but not with my 300D. The 3rd or 4th had been the best (in my eyes - i'll post it tomorrow) .. pure luck .. afterwards lots of practicing .... in the end, i got a little better but the most of em where totally out of focus or without any drop .. ;)

You see, it's quite simple ... disappointing somewhat, isn't it?

Colouring was done in PS, the shots were just greyscale. It's impossible to get that saturated colours with just food-colours in the water. Also, because of the whole operation got very wet, i didn't want to have coloured water all around the place .. lol. Sadly there's not to much contrast in them, giving it a grainy look after PS. Don't know a solution for that (for now).

So let's flood r'osity with drops .. i'd love to see what you'll get. I'd be happy if i could be of service ... :-))

Tom

PS - the technical aspects: shutter time 1/200 (Thanks to Matt (RedundantlyAbundant) ... i thought this had to be a lot shorter too), aperture F2.8 (hardly enough for that droplet alone .. see tomorrow) to (in todays posting) F9 (at least the inner ripples are sharp) .. couldn't rise it any further for it got to dark - but with some decent flash you'll be able to use F12 which should provide even sharper shots. ISO100 .. but that's of no importance. Anything else you'd need to know? Ahh .. the famous Sigma 105 EX lens at a distance of 4 or 5 inches to the impact-point.

PPS Kim/Matt: i'd like to read your specs too .. if you have a spare minute to post em. :)

OK!!!! the color was what amazed me the most....I wonder how it was possible to have such colors. but if it's not too much to ask. what manipulation did you use to get that color?

Dunno how that dialogue is called in the english potatoeshop (V6.0 if that makes any difference). In german it's called Farbton - Saettigung .. which may be "hue - saturation" (wild guess)? You'll reach it with ctrl - u ... in there you can adjust the colours, their saturation and their lab-brightness. I took the option "colourize" (Faerben - in the lower right) and than took that deeply saturated blue with a slightly lowered brightness. I'm really sorry if i've disappointed you with the colours not being created by light .. Regards, Tom

Perhaps this is like the making-offs of some movies. When you know how it's done, it looses all the magic?

No ... it's still magical. A "pipette" (in English) is the term used in the laboratory, only we don't have rubber bulbs on the end. The English term for what you used is "dropper" or sometimes "eye dropper" (since most of the time they are used for eye medication). And, it's a really cool technique. I may have to try it sometime.

Thanks a lot for the info about pipettes and droppers :) And by all means, try it sometimes. It's a lot of fun and with a ratio like that, one can really be proud to get that droplet :)

pipette is french!!!! german and french are quite close in fact I guess. from your explaination, I never thought it would be that simple. THx for sharing...it still is a very nice one and it's still magic...you can have the best tool on earth...if you don't know how to use them.... thx for the help.

I'm afraid that my technique is even less impressive than your's, Tom. My studio was the bathroom... (Bathroom Studio.. lol, Tedz will charge me for that one!) For my "Ripples..." shot, I placed a simple white bowl in the sink and let the faucet drip slowly, so that freed both hands (didn't use a tripod). I sat on a box of kitty litter... (like I said, not very impressive ;) ) The blue color was added is Photoshop. My last two droplets were both taken in the same sink, the white background is a piece of paper stolen from the printer. But I used a red bowl this time, and the only postwork was adjustments on levels and unsharp mask. Now for the camera settings! Simple simple things... Manual focus, placed the tip of my toothbrush at the spot where the droplets hit the surface of the water and used the autofocus button once. Sutter speed: 1/160. Aperature: F11. My beloved macro mode on. And the camera's flash, correction set to -0.6. Most importantly of all.... many many tries! Lol =) Okie dokie, hope this helps! Kim

I think I like the "bathroom studio" method, sounds much easier, this is a must try thanks Kim! :)

I'm at work, so this will be short and sweet. lol. Thank you soooooooooo much Tom!!! I can't wait to try this out! I really can't wait to get home and try this one out. I love when everyone comes together to try and learn new and different techniques. This does not take away any magic for the process or image, it just makes it all that much more fun to try out! :) Now, maybe I should buy another battery and memory card before I try this. lol. You da man!

LOL! At Kims description of her technique (kitty litter...heehehe) ....! But seriously this is fabulous info from all of you..... Might be fun to try one of these days.

I'm glad you enjoyed the description, 'Chelle. The box was quite uncomfortable though.. there was a ridge all along the edge that... just didn't feel right. ;) Would really like to see what you could do with one of these!

Try it with milk. Interesting splash (if you can keep kitty out of picture).

Try it with milk. Interesting splash (if you can keep kitty out of picture).

Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/viewed.ez?galleryid=388574&Start=37&Artist=zhounder&ByArtist=Yes

Oh thx you very much for the help raven...i appreciate a lot. This is amazing. What an artist you are. !!!!!:O)!!!!

I'm no artist Benoit .. enax, 'chelle or logiloglu are artists (as are some others over here) .. i'm still an apprentice learning from artists such as them :) @Misha: yep, already thought of mixing something into the water. Without having a kitty and my small one not beeing able to crawl for now, using milk may be a great idea. Will have to try that next weekend. Thanks a lot for that hint!!! @Kim: yep, that sink-method is the easier approach. But you loose some control (height and time of release) ... and as the light in our bathroom is even worse than in the living room, i'll have to continue using the dropper.

Hmmmm, seven cats, I think milk is out of the question here. Although I do have the litter box to sit on.

Milk gives almost a "crown-like" splash.