My first water drops pic! :)

geekette · 05-17-2011, 09:31 PM

So with everything I've learned from here and other web sites, I was able to easily--within a minute or two--get my first water droplets pics.

I slid my Vivitar 283--with DIY variable power control--into a Cactus V5 and set it to receive; then put it in the Cactus V included stand, on the drain board, pointing at the water faucet about 15 inches away to the left. Put another Cactus V5 on my K-X and set my camera to manual mode. I set shutter speed to the max: 1/160; then I set the aperture to f8.0--to reduce ambient light a bit. I took a few pics and at first it was overexposed so I dialed the flash power down a bit each exposure until it was right. It was set pretty low to at least give me a flash duration of around 1/10,000 of a second. I set the faucet so it would drip--dripping around 1 drop per second. I went with the rhythm of the drops and started snapping--snap snap snap.

Anyways below is a pic of one of them. Several turned out very cool but I liked this one cause of the big drop at the bottom of the pic. I had another one that had a star of light reflect off of it but it was a tiny drop.

I love how you can freeze time with a flash and this is the first time I've done it! I am really happy with my recent investments. Also, thanks so much y'all for answering all my questions!

Looking forward to learning more about photography!

Attached Images

JohnBee · 05-17-2011, 09:45 PM

And that is a great first shot indeed!
Looking forward to seeing more.

hawk1500 · 05-17-2011, 10:07 PM

very nice.

feel free to post more pics. =)

geekette · 05-17-2011, 10:10 PM

Looks better in black and white:

Attached Images

geekette · 05-17-2011, 10:15 PM

It actually looks a lot better on flickr: My First Water Drops Photograph! | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DaveHolmes · 05-18-2011, 01:59 AM

cool!

doggy1972 · 05-18-2011, 02:22 AM

Really cool shot. Well done. The lower most droplet is crying out for a crop IMHO. Love the reflection of the room

geekette · 05-18-2011, 06:15 AM

Here is another one I took at the same time. I like the star of light on the second to bottom droplet--it's the only capture of the 10 or so I took that had a star of light.

Looks better on flickr: Another one of my first water drops photos. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

reeftool · 05-18-2011, 08:31 AM

Very nice!

tele_pathic · 06-14-2011, 01:53 PM

G,

Don't take this wrong way, but I thought your other comments about photos looking better on flicker than on here were a bit...off...crazy-talk. But I have to admit that, after comparing your photos here and the same photo on flicker, you are correct/right (something every woman loves to here, I'm sure). I wonder why that is? About the photo I mean, not the sexist remark about women always needing to be right. I know why THAT is.

geekette · 06-14-2011, 09:39 PM

Originally posted by tele_pathic

G,

Don't take this wrong way, but I thought your other comments about photos looking better on flicker than on here were a bit...off...crazy-talk. But I have to admit that, after comparing your photos here and the same photo on flicker, you are correct/right (something every woman loves to here, I'm sure). I wonder why that is? About the photo I mean, not the sexist remark about women always needing to be right. I know why THAT is.

Well when you upload a large multi-megabyte file it needs to scale it down in size and compress it for storage here. I am assuming the conversion tools flickr uses are better than the one that comes with the forum software. Makes sense since their site is all about photos. I do notice--at least on my mac os x system using firefox--that if you right click on a picture from this forum and click "view image" it actually looks better than inline. I think this software stretches the image slightly or something.

slip · 06-17-2011, 04:24 PM

wow now I have to chase some drops

great pic

cheers

Docrwm · 06-20-2011, 08:25 PM

Very nice indeed.

Chex · 06-20-2011, 09:00 PM

Looks good! I love the starburst off the waterdrop, it's nice when you can get them, they sure don't happen that often! If you are enjoying water drop shooting its pretty easy to setup to do the splash shots as well. I haven't done them in a month or so, but that just means I'm due for another evening of water fun.

Water Drops and Macro fun! - a set on Flickr

Chex · 06-20-2011, 09:05 PM

Also, I like your camera it's very... pink, must be hard to misplace! I think if I got my wife a K-x or K-r that was pink or white I might get the K-5 all to myself! Now just being able to afford to implement that master plan...

05-17-2011, 09:31 PM	#1
geekette Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 528	My first water drops pic! :) So with everything I've learned from here and other web sites, I was able to easily--within a minute or two--get my first water droplets pics. I slid my Vivitar 283--with DIY variable power control--into a Cactus V5 and set it to receive; then put it in the Cactus V included stand, on the drain board, pointing at the water faucet about 15 inches away to the left. Put another Cactus V5 on my K-X and set my camera to manual mode. I set shutter speed to the max: 1/160; then I set the aperture to f8.0--to reduce ambient light a bit. I took a few pics and at first it was overexposed so I dialed the flash power down a bit each exposure until it was right. It was set pretty low to at least give me a flash duration of around 1/10,000 of a second. I set the faucet so it would drip--dripping around 1 drop per second. I went with the rhythm of the drops and started snapping--snap snap snap. Anyways below is a pic of one of them. Several turned out very cool but I liked this one cause of the big drop at the bottom of the pic. I had another one that had a star of light reflect off of it but it was a tiny drop. I love how you can freeze time with a flash and this is the first time I've done it! I am really happy with my recent investments. Also, thanks so much y'all for answering all my questions! Looking forward to learning more about photography! Attached Images

05-18-2011, 06:15 AM	#8
geekette Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 528 Original Poster	Here is another one I took at the same time. I like the star of light on the second to bottom droplet--it's the only capture of the 10 or so I took that had a star of light. Looks better on flickr: Another one of my first water drops photos. \| Flickr - Photo Sharing! Attached Images

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05-17-2011, 09:45 PM	#2
JohnBee Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Newrfoundland Photos: Albums Posts: 4,667	And that is a great first shot indeed! Looking forward to seeing more.

05-17-2011, 10:07 PM	#3
hawk1500 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 270	very nice. feel free to post more pics. =)

05-17-2011, 10:10 PM	#4
geekette Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 528 Original Poster	Looks better in black and white: Attached Images

05-17-2011, 10:15 PM	#5
geekette Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 528 Original Poster	It actually looks a lot better on flickr: My First Water Drops Photograph! \| Flickr - Photo Sharing!

05-18-2011, 01:59 AM	#6
DaveHolmes Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 1,501	cool!

05-18-2011, 02:22 AM	#7
doggy1972 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 217	Really cool shot. Well done. The lower most droplet is crying out for a crop IMHO. Love the reflection of the room

05-18-2011, 08:31 AM	#9
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	Very nice!

06-14-2011, 01:53 PM	#10
tele_pathic Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 292	G, Don't take this wrong way, but I thought your other comments about photos looking better on flicker than on here were a bit...off...crazy-talk. But I have to admit that, after comparing your photos here and the same photo on flicker, you are correct/right (something every woman loves to here, I'm sure). I wonder why that is? About the photo I mean, not the sexist remark about women always needing to be right. I know why THAT is.

06-14-2011, 09:39 PM	#11
geekette Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 528 Original Poster	Originally posted by tele_pathic G, Don't take this wrong way, but I thought your other comments about photos looking better on flicker than on here were a bit...off...crazy-talk. But I have to admit that, after comparing your photos here and the same photo on flicker, you are correct/right (something every woman loves to here, I'm sure). I wonder why that is? About the photo I mean, not the sexist remark about women always needing to be right. I know why THAT is. Well when you upload a large multi-megabyte file it needs to scale it down in size and compress it for storage here. I am assuming the conversion tools flickr uses are better than the one that comes with the forum software. Makes sense since their site is all about photos. I do notice--at least on my mac os x system using firefox--that if you right click on a picture from this forum and click "view image" it actually looks better than inline. I think this software stretches the image slightly or something.

06-17-2011, 04:24 PM	#12
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	wow now I have to chase some drops great pic cheers

06-20-2011, 08:25 PM	#13
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Very nice indeed.

06-20-2011, 09:00 PM	#14
Chex Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: The 'Stoke, British Columbia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,678	Looks good! I love the starburst off the waterdrop, it's nice when you can get them, they sure don't happen that often! If you are enjoying water drop shooting its pretty easy to setup to do the splash shots as well. I haven't done them in a month or so, but that just means I'm due for another evening of water fun. Water Drops and Macro fun! - a set on Flickr

06-20-2011, 09:05 PM	#15
Chex Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: The 'Stoke, British Columbia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,678	Also, I like your camera it's very... pink, must be hard to misplace! I think if I got my wife a K-x or K-r that was pink or white I might get the K-5 all to myself! Now just being able to afford to implement that master plan...