Assignment "Water Drops"

So for a few minutes I sat looking at the computer screen. Staring at the words "water drops" and thinking. But by this time it is 8pm and it is to dark outside to shoot the rain. Hmm or maybe not? There could be something interesting out there in the dark that I could photograph with water dripping on or off of. But then... remembering that I do not have a fancy TTL flash for the old camera I decided agents venturing out in the dark rain.

So now what? Hmmmmm More thinking..... Then it hit me. THE KITCHEN SINK! I ran down to the kitchen and grabbed a glass and turned on the water. After many takes, (many many takes) adjusting the shutter speed in the "shutter priority mode" I finally reached a speed fast enough to freeze the water in movement. The color temp and lighting effect was OK, but too harsh. I used my left hand and bounced the light from my on camera flash up and off to the left. This diffused the light just enough for my liking.

I must have taken about 140 shots. Yes I am a freak (thank you digital !). I still consider myself in the "learning phase" A place I'll probably be in for quite some time. Because I believe I will always be learn new techniques and these new techniques will take many many shots to master. So taking 140 frames to capture that one good shot... isn't to crazy... in my opinion.

Back up to my computer... time to DL all those images. After a while of flipping through every image, I came up with about 15 that I truly liked. Then narrowed it down to about 7 of my favorites. The image at the top of this entry I have named the "Dog Head Drop" It's amazing how water looks when you freeze frame it. The next image is obviously a "missed drop" but I fell in love with the colors and how the water looks in the glass, it's kind of calming. The third image down on this page is one of my other favorites. I'm not even upset at the off tilt of the glass, in my opinion it gives it movement, this reaction of the water to the drop is perfect for what I was trying to accomplish.

Now the forth image down actually "hits the nail on the head" in terms of capturing a "water drop" The colors are now a bit warmer and still soft. Other then the harsh flash reflection on the upper left side of the image, I feel it's a great shot. The drops of water are in focus, the water in the glass is clear and sharp and there is movement.

Now For some fun... because I know, I can't keep myself away from pushing/tweaking my photos just a bit in Photoshop. This time I took a totally different approach to the "dripping water". I turned the water on high, overflowing in the glass. With an adjustment to the White Balance, shutter speed, back ground, and angle, I produced a very blue and chromy like image. VOILA! A completely different photograph.

I captured some great shots for this assignment so far. However... There are some details I wish I could have changed or done differently. If this wasn't a kitchen sink, and I was able to deconstruct the whole "set" This is what I would have done. I would have a smoother taller background, keeping a mix of the chrome color and reflectiveness properties with the soft off white for bounce and fill. I definitely would have made a slightly larger space. The faucet would be moved up a little higher to give me more "working space". I felt so trapped in this little frame while shooting. Knowing this would also cause difficult cropping in post production. But needless to say I could not do major construction to the kitchen sink. I had to work with what I had. And that my friend makes you work, and learn. IF you want it bad enough you can figure out a way to get it.

I believe I accomplished what I was looking for on this mini shoot and I thank Timarra for giving me this first assignment. It's pushing me to work, and I love this kind of work !