Showing posts with label high speed photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high speed photography. Show all posts

High speed water shots - and how to do them!

It's another wet weekend in Brisbane, and I found this post I'd started collecting notes about, but had not yet posted it.

I'm fascinated by high speed photography - particularly high speed images of water splashes, like this stunning one from Martin Waugh. Check out his website to see a consistently amazing portfolio of water splashes and water collisions. What's the difference? Keep reading....

(c) 2006 Martin Waugh at www.liquidsculpture.com
Martin describes in very general terms, his process for creating what he calls Liquid Sculptures and you can see a picture of his shooting set up.

I was so interested in his work, I scoured every part of his site, and came across this slow motion video which shows what actually happens to a water drop when it hits a shallow pool of water (a splash), and what happens when a water drop which has "bounced off the pool of water" and collides with another falling drop (a collision, like the image above).

Anyway, as the rain continues to fall, I'm feeling a bit inspired to keep playing with water and eventually get to images like Martin's. I suspect it's going to take a l-o-t of practice :)

Brittle Rose


Brittle Rose, originally uploaded by alan_sailer.

And one final Alan Sailer stunner for today: a rose bud dipped in liquid nitrogen and shot. Too cool for school!

Voyage to the Planet of Frozen Strawberries

More awesome Alan Sailer work - this one, a strawberry dipped in liquid nitrogen for a few minutes, and then shot with a pellet.

Green Eggs No Ham - high speed photography with projectiles


Green Eggs No Ham, originally uploaded by alan_sailer.

Alan Sailer does the most amazing high speed photography work. I read about him in this Daily Mail article last year, and stumbled across his Flickr Photostream today.

According to the article, Alan shoots at everyday objects using an air rifle, a camera and a home-made flash. Photography that requires a microsecond flash to stop action has to be moving near the speed of sound and such events are usually high-risk. To buy a fast flash is expensive, often costing many thousands of pounds, but Sailer was able to build one for about £200.

This image of a "farm fresh salmonella filled egg" was pounded with a green paintball. As you do! :) What an awesome result!

I truly admire photographers who push themselves and their art to the limit.