Liquid Life
This is a “Liquid Flow”-style image, where multiple liquids are mixed together and the resulting interaction is photographed. Based on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability which describes how two fluids of different densities interact, the inks I dropped into the liquid not only fluoresce, but they have different properties to create some very transient artwork.
I have something special for you – well beyond a behind-the-scenes photo of the setup, here is a behind-the-scenes VIDEO, with a complete list of equipment in the description: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZQoR4AWBBA . And of course, for those curious, here is a BTS photo that you can examine as well: donkom.ca/bts/_1090342.jpg .
Huge thanks to Platypod for continuing to be a solid “base of operations” for tabletop macro work. I’m using two Platypod Max and two Platypod Ultras here to hold my lights in place, many of which with their gooseneck arms which will be available to purchase in November. They have a fun little side-port designed to hold the male-male adapter when you’re connecting two goosenecks together, but you can always just plug an extra gooseneck in there and piggyback one off the other, using both. Lots of possibilities.
One key strategy here has to do with depth of field resolution. You’ll notice a wooden kebab skewer across the top of the 8” cubed aquarium in the BTS shot. To focus, I drop another skewer vertically, manually focus on it, and then remove it. The frame covers the aquarium edge-to-edge, but the main subject usually only occupies a central portion of that – and cropping is key. Being further away allows for a greater depth of field but also for flexibility if where the subjects ends up – it might spread further than you expect and still be interesting! Shot with a Lumix S1R where I know my pixel quality is top-notch and I’m not afraid to throw some pixels away to create the composition I seek.
I threw a LOT of ultraviolet light at this, enough to get camera settings of 1/200sec, F/13 and ISO 1000 for the stills shooting. Since these images survive noise very well, I wouldn’t be afraid to shoot at up to ISO 6400 and beyond with some cameras if needed. The water is plain tap water, and the inks used are all from Noodler’s: Blue Ghost, Firefly, and Dragon Catfish Orange.
This image is, of course, inverted. The surface of the water is at the bottom of the frame, showing the growing and glowing structures rising into the composition. They have an almost x-ray feel to them, based on their transparency and luminosity. This was a very fun experiment and one I am certain that I will revisit.
One final tip: position the camera slightly lower than center on your glass tank, and aim up to get a bit of the bottom surface of the water into the frame. Makes for added depth and possible reflections!
Liquid Life
This is a “Liquid Flow”-style image, where multiple liquids are mixed together and the resulting interaction is photographed. Based on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability which describes how two fluids of different densities interact, the inks I dropped into the liquid not only fluoresce, but they have different properties to create some very transient artwork.
I have something special for you – well beyond a behind-the-scenes photo of the setup, here is a behind-the-scenes VIDEO, with a complete list of equipment in the description: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZQoR4AWBBA . And of course, for those curious, here is a BTS photo that you can examine as well: donkom.ca/bts/_1090342.jpg .
Huge thanks to Platypod for continuing to be a solid “base of operations” for tabletop macro work. I’m using two Platypod Max and two Platypod Ultras here to hold my lights in place, many of which with their gooseneck arms which will be available to purchase in November. They have a fun little side-port designed to hold the male-male adapter when you’re connecting two goosenecks together, but you can always just plug an extra gooseneck in there and piggyback one off the other, using both. Lots of possibilities.
One key strategy here has to do with depth of field resolution. You’ll notice a wooden kebab skewer across the top of the 8” cubed aquarium in the BTS shot. To focus, I drop another skewer vertically, manually focus on it, and then remove it. The frame covers the aquarium edge-to-edge, but the main subject usually only occupies a central portion of that – and cropping is key. Being further away allows for a greater depth of field but also for flexibility if where the subjects ends up – it might spread further than you expect and still be interesting! Shot with a Lumix S1R where I know my pixel quality is top-notch and I’m not afraid to throw some pixels away to create the composition I seek.
I threw a LOT of ultraviolet light at this, enough to get camera settings of 1/200sec, F/13 and ISO 1000 for the stills shooting. Since these images survive noise very well, I wouldn’t be afraid to shoot at up to ISO 6400 and beyond with some cameras if needed. The water is plain tap water, and the inks used are all from Noodler’s: Blue Ghost, Firefly, and Dragon Catfish Orange.
This image is, of course, inverted. The surface of the water is at the bottom of the frame, showing the growing and glowing structures rising into the composition. They have an almost x-ray feel to them, based on their transparency and luminosity. This was a very fun experiment and one I am certain that I will revisit.
One final tip: position the camera slightly lower than center on your glass tank, and aim up to get a bit of the bottom surface of the water into the frame. Makes for added depth and possible reflections!