DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Strawberry Splash – Thoughts About High Speed Photography

Nov 20, 2009 by Udi Tirosh Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Strawberry Milk Splash in a spoon (blue background) (by david.kittos)Gotta love strawberries. And gotta love strawberries in cream even more.

Maybe this is why my taste buds had me coming to this picture again and again.

Then again, it might be the technical details of the shot that drew my attention. Getting a nice splash is hard enough but getting strawberry on spoon splash is nearly impossible. Read on for some musings, thoughts and tips.

David Kittos took this wonderful splash using very simple recipe (As simple as strawberries in cream recipe).

Aside some strawberries and cream David used a strobe, a gridspot some blue card and the special ingredient, a cross beam trigger circuit.

Let’s see some of the technical aspects of this shot. (Setup shot here) Thinking about those can help to understand and later on reproduce high speed photography images:

Lighting: For lighting David used a Nikon Strobe. Any flash would do, however, there are two advantages to using a strobe here. It is easy to make a gridspot for it. And the output of it can be controlled to very low power setting.

Talking about power setting, this is a key element of getting a good freeze motion shot. The lower the flash setting, the shorter the light burst is. David had to go down to 1/16. Going down to lower levels will produce even shorter bursts of light. So if you want a really short duration, you may need to use multiple strobes.

The gridspot is there to control spill, so only the strawberry get the light.

I love the backdrop approach here, gelling a flash for a gradient color effect.

Exposure:  The shot was taken at complete darkness (it is a strobe that freezes the motion), so David used bulb mode. This means that all the preparations have to be done prior to each exposure: filing the spoon with cream, setting the focus, and so on.

Positioning: The general concept rocks. Place a spoon on a pony clamp and drop the strawberry. (Clamps are on sale now, 6 for about a buck @ Amazon). This is smart. The spoon is always @ the same spot, so pre-focus can be used. The berry had to be thrown from quite high to create the splash. Kinda hard to aim in the dark though.

One thing that I think I’d do had I taken this shot (which I will soon), is to place another clamp right above the spoon. This way I can let go the little marksman inside of me and hit the spoon every time.

Triggering: David used a flash triggering system called StopShot, but there are several systems and kits available on the market: The Hivits system and The Universal Timer are just two of the options, and you can always go DIY on the circuit as well.

Here are a few things you want to check before deciding on buying a trigger:

Make sure it has several out connections: for several strobes, for a camera, for a coffee maker. You never know what you’ll need to trigger in your next project.

Make sure it has several in connections and accessories: Trigger with a microphone, a beam cross, pressure and more.

Make sure – and this is absolutely critical – that you can create delay between the event that you are filming and the time of the strobe pop. In the image by David, there is a small delay between crossing the beam and hitting the soon. This delay can change depending on the berry’s speed, weight, the spoon to beam distance and more. Make sure you can control the delay.

Inspiration:  I love water drops and popping balloons. Really. Once you master the technique (using balloons and water drops) it is time to make your own say with a new idea.

Speaking of inspiration, check out David’s photostream, and Chaval Brasil’s High Speed Photography set for some great splashes.

Your Turn: Got a high speed photo tip or great image share with us in the comments.

To see more great projects, visit the collection of Reader’s Projects.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

DIY High Speed Splash Photography Default ThumbnailDIY – High Speed Photography at Home Default ThumbnailAbout Speed Painting, Presentation & Reflections [Thoughts & Photographs] High speed, high sensitivity cameras and laser beams show how viruses can spread via microdroplets

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: flash, high speed photography, Photography Projects, Readers Projects

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.net

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Light Painting – Creating The Orb
Thank You And Premium Flash Site Giveaway »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy