Playing around with water...

[Happy Grumpz]

Rubbish weather, dark nights and a little project I'm doing have kick started these...

(All are actually very simple to do)

3Q5A0206-Edit-Edit-Edit-Edit by Matt Smith, on Flickr

Exploding Water Balloon by Matt Smith, on Flickr

Lemon Drop by Matt Smith, on Flickr

 

[<tuffty/>]

Nice to see a fellow 'water' enthusiast lol... I have a slightly different approach to splashes though...

<tuffty/>

 

[Happy Grumpz]

@<tuffty/> do you use a water dropper kit?

 

[Scottyg]

Cracking pictures lads.

 

[<tuffty/>]

@<tuffty/> do you use a water dropper kit?

Yarp... just re did the rig over christmas to make it a little easier to setup and get consistency in the drops...

Added two extra valves but need to dial them in a bit to get them all hitting at the same time...

Controllers I use are kits from HiViz... Astro Splash drip controller...

...and the Multitrigger 3 for controlling the flash

<tuffty/>

 

[Happy Grumpz]

That looks awesome!

 

[<tuffty/>]

It will be when its all dialled in

<tuffty/>

 

[Happy Grumpz]

A little update to this thread, I managed to snag up a used SplashArt kit, it's a bit frustrating but really good fun, these are from my 1st session with it...

3Q5A3304-Edit by Matt Smith, on Flickr

3Q5A3338-Edit by Matt Smith, on Flickr

 

[<tuffty/>]

nice captures dude... I discovered the splash art kit after I went for the HiViz... seems a decent enough bit of kit to be fair...

Just plain water or have you tried any thickening agents etc?

<tuffty/>

 

[<tuffty/>]

...oh yeah... I hear yah on the frustrating bit... its why I use a 50D body I bought really cheap as this stuff can accumulate a shutter count from hell lol

<tuffty/>

 

[Happy Grumpz]

Just plain water or have you tried any thickening agents etc?

The guy I got the kit off gave me some thickening powder (I can't remember it's name) and I seemed to have a good amount of success that night. I made a new batch on Saturday morning and went to use it last night and it was too thick, so much so it was only producing 1 drip instead of 2 so I had to add more water to the mix but still seemed too thick.

I'll made a new batch today and just use a tiny amount of the powder (maybe half a teaspoon) and see how that goes.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Nice... I tried to use xanthan gum but was struggling to filter it... not sure if I got the mix right or not but did seem far too think tbh...

My shots were plain water... might try with a smaller amount next time and let it settle before straining...

Be interested in the ratio you find works (powder to ml of water) as all the stuff I have read so far seems to vary..

<tuffty/>

 

[Happy Grumpz]

I think the problem with the information on the net is (it appears to me) that people don't really want to give you the information.

I'll find out what the powder is called for you, I guess it's some form of Xanthan gum.

 

[<tuffty/>]

I think the problem with the information on the net is (it appears to me) that people don't really want to give you the information.

Exactly this tbh... there is basic info out there that kinda gets you heading in a direction but not enough to help you get up to speed quickly enough...

Water drop photography even with a drip rig can be massively frustrating... especially if you have a rig you need to take down after you are done as I have found they are sensitive to setup and trying to maintain consistency is a big issue...

My original setup hung off a tripod which was ok but always took a little while to dial in every time I used it... my new setup seems more consistent but still had to tweak angles and heights of the valves to get consistent usable results... and boy does it eat flash batteries lol

I bought Corrie White's e-book (http://www.liquiddropart.com/) which actually is pretty good with the basics but a little light on the specifics...

In it she says she uses 5ml (1 tsp) of gum powder to 6 cups of water which I believe is around 240ml... I tried halving this as 1.5ltrs of stuff seemed a lot tbh but found I couldn't get it to filter at all...

She also goes on to say she uses an all purpose cleaner to break the surface tension and get the tall fancy shapes... the one she mentions isn't available in the UK (she lives in canada),... did a bit more searching about and found an 'alternative' to be Dettol power and pure kitchen spray...

I have used it and it does appear to make a difference but it does create bubbles on the surface which you need to clear so they aren't in shot...

Will be interested in your experiences with it all though... I still need to dial in the other two valves I have and make my rig a little more stable but its one of those things thats a lot of faffing and frustration to overcome before the results make it worth while

I'll find out what the powder is called for you, I guess it's some form of Xanthan gum.

That would be good ta

<tuffty/>

 

[Happy Grumpz]

@<tuffty/> what you need is something called 'Rinse Aid', I've seen it mentioned a few times and last night saw a bottle in someones setup picture. I believe it's a dish washer cleaner.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Had a quick google... will see if I can find some that isn't coloured as most seem to be so far :/

<tuffty/>

 

[gone]

Have tried drips, without success, although very crude hit n miss setup, no sort of control, here are a couple from other water experiments. I really need to spend more time with my camera, lots of fun and need to get my mojo back.

 

[Happy Grumpz]

Got the water dropper kit out tonight...

Splash! by Matt Smith, on Flickr

 

[<tuffty/>]

Nice... I need to play with mine again... I built a new controller than is more accurate and can tune for multiple valves... not sure how easy its gonna be to setup but no pain no gain

<tuffty/>