Still Chasing Water Drops

Green Water Drop

I'm still chasing that "Perfect" Water Drop Photo.  I set up in the kitchen sink with a white bowl 1/2 filled with water.  I add food coloring to make the water  different colors.  I then get the faucet to just drip - not too fast - slower is better.


I make note of where the water is hitting and place a pencil in the same spot and manual focus on that spot.  I have a flash on my camera and a remote flash to the left of the bowl.  I am using my 100 MM Macro Lens with a low ISO (100).  Shutter is set f/14 at 1/200 speed to freeze the water drop.  I then fire off about 3 or 4 in succession - any more than that and the flash says "enough already".

Red Water Drop

Blue Water

I spent a couple of hours yesterday trying to perfect the technique for taking a photograph of a water drop. I've found it difficult to find the right combination of aperture, shutter speed, focus and lighting. This one is the best out of 1,134, 234 exposures (I exaggerate for effect).

(Click on the photo to view a larger image).