Question for water drop photographers

redmonkee

redmonkee

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PHILIP
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Hi guys

I've been reading through some of the posts on here for quite a while now and have seen loads of great images including water drops and the elusive collisions.

My question is how many of you use a trigger device to capture your images or do you simply use a trial and error procedure which involves taking 500 shots to get 1 keeper:)

The reason I ask is that I am thinking of purchasing a Stop Shot module and infrared trigger to help me get those fantastic collisions. Although it is expensive it will greatly reduce the amount of clicks on my camera and batteries used in my flash so I'm thinking it'll pay for itself after heavy usage.

Phil
 
Hey, I don't use a trigger to get the drops/collisions. just good old timing when you know it hits the water as you can hear it.

the better your set up the more likely you are to get a collision/keeper. I had 3 collisions out of 26 shots the other day, and only 1 out of about 50 the day before. So the better and more consistent the set up the more chance you have of a good keeper

tbh not sure how much a trigger will help, even with the right drip rate you wont always get a collision on each drop.

how much is the trigger?
 
Hi Robbo

I've seen a set up that allows you to activate a drop or two drops (with programmable delay) on the press of a button, these then pass the sensor which activates the flash. All the variables can be adjusted, so once you have the right timings it should be possible to get a collision every shot. Therefore i'd be able to spend more time making sure focus is sharp and experimenting with lighting and background colour etc

The kit I have seen will set me back about £400 though, but I really am thinking seriously about getting it. I like the level of control I would have with it.
 
i have a trigger setup, consistent results so you have more scope for working on ideas and composition imho

easy to set up and wire it yourself, costs about a tenner from the states
http://go.talkphotography.co.uk/?id=722X1339&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hiviz.com%2Fkits%2Fspg-du_complete.htm

here is mine
3294691241_cc29879416_o.jpg


2954680265_ee52150aae_b.jpg
 
to get 'normal' drops I would say its a waste of money getting a trigger, normal drops you will get 99% of the time just by using remote trigger.

as I said before, to get a collision you need the right drip rate of about 10-12 drips per second, and even then each two drips will not always be a collision.

Send Ashmashmash a PM, he is the master at these. check out hisFlickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44174060@N04/
 
Animal, that's a brilliant shot! How come the water container doesn't show in front of the face in the drops though? Oh, and your flash support looks like its' about to head for the floor, as the back leg is off the table!!
 
how much does that thing cost?

it just seems like a lot of over work/money that you don't really need, in my opinion anyway.

You can images like you seen on Ash's Flickr without all that gear.
 
I know you can Robbo. Ash is proof of that as his shots are awesome. I just don't know If I can have the patience and timing skills to have a near constant running water source with a cup held underneath and hop I can get it out of the way quickly enough to get a shot.

The thought of doing 500 shots to get a few keepers does not inspire me:), I'd much prefer to have some control and therefore be able to tweak settings to get results rather than leave it to chance.
 
the keep rate isnt that high lol, I think ash had it down to 20/1 for keep rate,

It really is easy once you have things set up right, but if the keep rate buts you off then maybe its a best option for you to get the thingy (not sure what its called lol)

how much is it?
 
redmonkee said:
£400
Click to expand...

ouch!
saw some interesting shots of bats feeding over a guys garden pond with the flashes triggered by such a system. bit too much for water drops imho but with sound triggers etc there is plenty to play with in the future
 
:-O

you are joking? right?

no offence but that is a ridiculace amount of money to pay for something you can do without it lol

I could have my new 10-20mm sigma for that!
 
No offense taken. I know its a lot of money, that's why I threw it our here to see what you guys think.

Although I think if i was to do this kind of photography often which I would if I spent £400 on it, then it would save my camera an awful lot of clicks:)

I just have visions of the other technique being a bit of a nightmare
 
If you turn the flash down to 1/16th power or something, it will recycle fast enough to keep up with the camera on continuous firing, like 4/5/6 frames a second.

There's still luck invloved, but you increase the chances a lot.
 
If you're keen to go down the automation route Camera Axe 3 is a far cheaper solution: Camera Axe You can build it yourself or or buy it ready made and they will ship to the UK, they also do a wide range of sensors. TBH as the other guys have pointed out it's more patience, perseverance and a repeatable setup that's key...

Carl
 
You can still get a collision, but the effect isn't as good.

Yes seen martins work, and I think Ash's are at least on par.
 
redmonkee said:
As I understand it Hoppy by doing it that way, the water would not be still by the time the second, third and fourth drops hit, which I think affects the chance of a good collision...I may be wrong on this though
Click to expand...

Firing the camera is a separate operation to the timing of the drops. Firing on continuous just increases your chances of scoring a direct hit. It's better than just hoping to chance and firing off a single shot almost at random and I can usually get 'something' almost every time.

However, if you want to replicate the excellence of Ash's work I think that's a job for some precision timing apperatus or you'll be at it for years and heading for the looney bin.
 
Robbo said:
You can still get a collision, but the effect isn't as good.

Yes seen martins work, and I think Ash's are at least on par.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. It is not a question of quality more a question of control. I bet Martin has to take far fewer shots to get the keeper with his technique.
 
Is a few thousand extra clicks going to depreciate your body by £400?
Going by the OP, it does sound as though this is all about resale value.


Just set it up and have some fun.:)
 
redmonkee said:
Hi guys

I've been reading through some of the posts on here for quite a while now and have seen loads of great images including water drops and the elusive collisions.

My question is how many of you use a trigger device to capture your images or do you simply use a trial and error procedure which involves taking 500 shots to get 1 keeper:)

The reason I ask is that I am thinking of purchasing a Stop Shot module and infrared trigger to help me get those fantastic collisions. Although it is expensive it will greatly reduce the amount of clicks on my camera and batteries used in my flash so I'm thinking it'll pay for itself after heavy usage.

Phil
Click to expand...

Hi Phil

I use a device to trigger the drops and fire the flash after a delay .. as others have said you can certainly do this for far less than £400 :thinking: I guess the real question you should be asking is: 'what do you want to do after the water drops' ? as you will get bored with them eventually :D and believe me that taking the shots is one thing but setting up for them is a real PITA :)
 
Splog said:
Hi Phil

I use a device to trigger the drops and fire the flash after a delay .. as others have said you can certainly do this for far less than £400 :thinking: I guess the real question you should be asking is: 'what do you want to do after the water drops' ? as you will get bored with them eventually :D and believe me that taking the shots is one thing but setting up for them is a real PITA :)
Click to expand...

Hi Steve

Can I ask what system you use. To be honest the system would be bought just for this kind of photography. I find the collision shots fascinating, and the work of Ash, Martin Waugh and Kev off Flickr are so varied I feel there are limitless possibilities with this stuff.

Having studied Fine Art I feel I could come up with a load of ideas for this and that is why I'm thinking of investing in a trigger system.
 
redmonkee said:
Hi Steve

Can I ask what system you use. To be honest the system would be bought just for this kind of photography. I find the collision shots fascinating, and the work of Ash, Martin Waugh and Kev off Flickr are so varied I feel there are limitless possibilities with this stuff.

Having studied Fine Art I feel I could come up with a load of ideas for this and that is why I'm thinking of investing in a trigger system.
Click to expand...

Hi Phil
My system is a self built system but there are quite a few available such as the mumford time machine, HiViz as well as the others mentioned previously all are far less than £400 .. and they will all give the same results:cool: I agree there are loads of possibilities and I do love water shots but £400 ...? :eek:
 
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