Backdrops Collections, brings together mini photographic sites, extending the existing Backdrop library collections available at
www.backdrops.co.uk.
At the time of writing this, Backdrops Collections is a new concept and will take time to expand. The current Collections include:
 Liquid in Motion
Smoke Signals
But dont forget you can still visit the main Backdrops website and its Galleries, by visiting
www.backdrops.co.uk
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High speed photography is used to freeze the motion of water droplets. Focus, Timing and Light are all critical elements in order to capture the moment of a water droplet hitting the surface of another droplet or capturing it mid air recording background detail in its reflection.
Focus of the camera lens is set manually on a pre placed object where the water droplet will land. Without going into too much detail on depth of field, because of this being so narrow, focusing needs to be accurate to the millimeter. Some shots in the galleries will be in focus at the front of the splash and out of focus towards the rear, this demonstates how small an area I have to work with.
Timing is achieved using circuitry, which combines an infrared beam with a delay unit. Water droplets that pass through and break the infra red beam trigger an electrical signal to a connected flash gun. The timing of the flash gun is crucial in order to capture the moment of impact - this timing is controlled within the circuitry with a delay component. The delay can be adjusted by the milisecond in order to capture the different stages a water droplet goes through upon impact.
Light controls what is captured the second the flash fires. Factors here include how much light reaches the splash which depends on distance and brightness of the flash. The position of the flash varies on the effect I wish to achieve. For example with the flash in front of the splash, a reflection will be captured. With the flash behind, then a shadow is likely to appear. When the flash fires this is the scene I want to capture, and in order to shoot this each shot is taken on 'bulb' mode. This allows me to keep the shutter open as long as I wish to let in the required amount of light. As soon as the flash of light is recorded the shot ends.
Shooting in bulb mode requires the shot to be taken in a dark room, because we only want to record the light from the flash. |
