what I did (so I can remember!!) -
- Manual mode 1/250 sec f 5.6 iso 100; camera 60 cm *directly* over the surface of water. Spend some time getting the plane of the lens exactly parallel to the surface of the water.
- 100 mm macro lens manual pre-focus on the meniscus of a knife or chopstick placed in the vase.
- I used a flat bottomed glass vase filled with about 8 cm water (to blur the background).
- water surface was about 40 cm above the background.
- off camera flash aimed at the background @ 1/16 power, placed 30 cm from background
- use the smallest amount of detergent possible (less than a drop) & only stir very gently in one direction to avoid excess air bubbles
- make sure the glass is really clean & detergent free before you start
Once I had the camera and flash set up, I changed the backgrounds and found different effects with different patterns & surface textures. I liked this one - a sari my son gave me for Christmas. The colours are refraction from the colours of the striped sari fabric, not a fancy PS trick.
Yay -- one more off my photographic bucket list! :))
If you have time, view enlarged on black for the full astrological viewing experience!! LOL
Last night I was thinking of trying this again lol. Each time I do, someone does it... haha... makes me laugh. I haven't done it with detergent before.. just oil and water.
@markyl Thanks Mark! do try it - it was not as 'scary' as I thought it would be. Oh, and I forgot to mention to use manual focus on the surface of the water using a knife / chopstick before shooting.
@ozziehoffy a smear a tiny dab on the very tip of the knife & then gently stir the water. The first time I used too much & it made too many air bubbles, & I had to wash, rinse & polish the vase, & start again & re-focus. Use only enough to break the surface tension down a little, but not too much, or it forms a sort of distracting 'foam'. Use gentle 'folding action' to avoid making air bubbles too.
Absolutely brilliant - and thanks for the explanation, I shall try this but it will probably be some months before I get a good enough outcome to post!!! ...fav
@ltodd Cool! lol... ahhh the amount of times I've had to wash and dry things and start over again ... it's insane... but we do it.. and do it again, and again.... hmmm that is insanity!
@catwhiskers thanks Nan! :)) Looking at other shots after reading the tutorial in the link, I can see the slight 3D bevel seen here is caused by the detergent changing the surface tension. I also thought the non-reflective backgrounds worked better than a CD, books, painted tin or folder for me.
Lyn this is fantastic, what a creative mind you have. Have you ever thought of selling some of these prints they would make great artwork for walls or calendars. Outstanding.
Last night I was thinking of trying this again lol. Each time I do, someone does it... haha... makes me laugh. I haven't done it with detergent before.. just oil and water.
I just stole your directions to give it a try someday.
ps: thanks for the tutorial, I must try this!
Thanks for sharing your steps and tips. :)