*Patterns
Read More
Balcony @ Dusk
2009-11-17
I wonder what this view costs.
This fancy building is on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, just North of San Vicente Blvd. I assume it's condos. Point Dume is the bump on the left in the distance - it marks the Northernmost point of the Santa Monica bay.
I set my camera on a fencepost and put the strap underneath to steady it and get it level. It took quite a bit of wrangling to get right, but it was necessary for the 20-second exposure. I think it worked out.
[ last year - http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/Year1/i-QVHC6Rv ]
![<span id="date">__01/07/11__</span> <span id="title">Dome Drop</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 1</em>
I've been itching to photograph some water drops since I took a short hands-on lighting class months ago at the <a href="http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/">Aquarium of the Pacific</a> on <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Animals/Aquarium-of-the-Pacific">Photographer's Night</a> with <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pva1964/">Paul Van Allen</a>. His setup was so simple, I don't know why it's taken me this long to do it.
I would have included a setup photo but I want to play around more - this was just my first attempt. I took dozens of photos, as you might imagine, but this was the most interesting to me because of it's unique shape and nice symmetry. I cranked the noise reduction to give it a nice smooth look.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
By the way, don't forget to check out my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/01/8-crazy-days-in-hawaii/">8 Crazy Days in Hawaii</a> post!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#759801589_qLn2u">[last year]</a> <em>I did go back, and I got <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1016227748_Jx9PW">this</a>...</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Patterns/i-RwSQfrv/2/ef95d5c3/Ti/2011-01-07%20Dome%20Drop-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/09/11__</span> <span id="title">Sphere</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 2</em>
My second attempt at water droplet photography. Today I used off-camera flash and a bigger bowl than <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1150062728_VAfLo">Friday's photo</a>. Embarassingly, I had my off-camera flash set up on Friday but I forgot to turn it on. I was so focused on the timing of the drops that I didn't notice the only light was coming from on-camera.
I added quite a bit of contrast for definition and noise reduction for smoothing. I would have done a setup photo but it's a little late, sorry! I'll do one eventually.
I'm still a bit in shock about yesterday's attack. I learned that in addition to the man who was 2 years ahead of me in my high school, Giffords herself attended, and the deceased includes a member of my parents church. Tragedies like this affect so many people.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#761209124_uyWRg">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Patterns/i-TbxLv2z/2/c33e29aa/Ti/2011-01-09%20Sphere-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/14/11__</span> <span id="title">Sunset Splash</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 3</em>
Day 3 of water droplet photography, featuring a 'splash crown' - I'm not sure if that's a real term or not. Today I played with colored backgrounds and taking the photo at the same level as the water. I'm compiling everything I'm learning into a blog post, but I do have a <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#1157079109_RNKa5">setup photo</a> for you today. I still have a few more things to try before I'm ready to share all my secrets.
I really liked this shot because of the nice high 'crown' and the pleasing arrangement of the mini-drops flying off. Out of hundreds of photos, I got about 20 shots of this phenomenon. There are some extra colors (pink, green) because of the other backgrounds I was using. I wish the focus was on the front waves instead of the back, but oh well. Next time.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#764977298_LQ5Ez">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Patterns/i-wVT2Wpd/2/e64fe604/Ti/2011-01-14%20Sunset%20Splash-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/17/11__</span> <span id="title">Aqua Splash</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 4</em>
My fourth water droplet photograph! The splash formation is similar to my <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year3/11272102_ACXDJ#1157053533_4A7Uw">1/14/11 photo</a>, but today I changed up the lighting and used colored milk instead of water. I wish I could say that this photo is unaltered but even with tons of food coloring, the SOOC photo was a bit dull. The photo has been cropped a bit, and the white balance changed to give more a blue/aqua color.
Oh yeah, of course I have a <a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Utility/Setups/8246339_SpVpq#1160338498_xyNkD">setup photo</a>. I think I'll probably do one more photo with some more experimentation, and then I'll compile all my hard-learned lessons into a blog post.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#767045531_FasRo">[last year]</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Patterns/i-Mkg8Q9Q/2/6f077090/Ti/2011-01-17%20Blue%20Splash-Ti.jpg)
![<span id="date">__01/26/11__</span> <span id="title">Bottle Drop</span>
<em>Water Drops, Day 5</em>
Well this is it, my fifth and final water drop photo. For now, anyways.
Over the past 3 weeks I've posted 4 other water drop photos and I pushed myself to keep experimenting with each subsequent photo. Today's photo doesn't represent any great leaps in technique - it's mostly that I used a water bottle instead of a much wider container. I also played with half-and-half as a liquid, but I ran into some limitations - read my upcoming blog post to see what I mean.
That's right, I'm sharing all of my hard-earned secrets with you! Eventually... I have to write them down first. Stay tuned.
Read my <a href="http://blog.jawsnap.net/2011/02/water-droplet-photography-lessons-learned/">blog post on water droplet photography</a>!
<a href="http://www.jawsnap.net/Daily/year2/7157835_BfJPF#774423305_2D3pf">[last year]</a> <em>firey...</em>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Utility/Patterns/i-v8PgMXn/2/b6a5b4d9/Ti/2011-01-26%20Bottle%20Drop-Ti.jpg)
SundaysChildSnapShots
on November 19, 2010Wow! A simple and beautiful composition. I love images like this.
papamugger
on November 19, 2010Beautiful
Art in Photography
on November 19, 2010Lovely colors and the softness of the horizon is great.
Kazimiera W.M
on November 19, 2010Beautifully done.
Kerry Milkie Photography
on November 19, 2010If that was my condo I'ld be sitting on that balcony - great capture and gorgeous colors
Tom Reichert
on November 19, 2010well done
Christine
on November 19, 2010Beautiful colors in the sky! Great capture.
Lgood
on November 19, 2010Very Nice!
Donna McCommon
on November 19, 2010A beautiful view!
Curtis Budden
on November 18, 2010Very nice on a number of levels. As others have already commented, the tones are terrific, and I really like your composition.