water drop high speed photography

water drop high speed photography‘another beauty’ (above)

león dafónte fernánde of liquid moments captures the movement of waterdrops with high-speed flash, with each image rendered with a micro-controller and precise timing – minor photoshopping is used to create contrast and adjust exposure. having worked as a photographer for more than 20 years, he has been experimenting with high speed liquid art photography since 2011.

‘another one’

the processsettings: the ideal ISO setting for the camera is ISO100 to ISO400 and an aperture of f14 to f18 in bulb modus. the bulb modus makes it necessary to have the room dimly lit or better still completely dark. the speed light flash guns are usually set to a power of 64 to 128.

positioning of the flash guns varies with the type of lighting. usually two flash guns behind the water tray, with a white acrylic glass in between as a light diffuser. this gives a nice soft overall light on the surface of the water and will result in a good reflection, and one flash on the right or left side of the drop.

colours in the liquid are food colouring, with the backgrounds formed from coloured gels on the flash guns. the liquids are water, cream, milk, or a combination all. the water tray is 20cm x 20cm, the glass bowl is 5cm filled to the rim. water has a higher viscosity by adding guar gum, (a food thickener for sauces), or glucose, making it easier to catch a well-formed water drop sculpture.

‘ballerina – water drop photography’

‘bunte krone’

the equipment:· nikon d5100 or nikon d800· 5 yn-560 flash· tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens· 4 x 12volt solenoid valve connected to a glimpsecatcher micro controller and a laptop

‘chalice 2’