Today I had hoped to go walking in Cheddar Gorge to try out my new wide-angle lens, but it rained 😦 Instead, I stayed in and had a go at something I’ve been meaning to try for months: water drop photos.
I don’t have an electronic trigger or anything fancy like that, so it was pretty hard work to fire the camera at the right time, while also making drops with a small pipette. It’s also hard to make drops in the same place each time. In the end I took over 200 photos, and deleted over half them because they didn’t even have a drop in them.
A small number of the remainder had pretty drops, and I’ve chosen my favourites.
The timing determines whether you get a “crater” or a “pillar”. I wasn’t able to get any other shapes, which I have seen done elsewhere. People who have tried this properly recommend using liquids other than water which are more viscous, as it is possible to get more interesting shapes.
I will no doubt come back to this another day, and experiment with more viscous liquids, and also coloured liquid and coloured lighting.
Jonathan Gazeley 
Two tips for the next try:
Instead of a pipette, hang up a freezer bag with some water in it, then use a pin to make a hole in the bottom. You’ll get a regular stream of drips which all land in the same spot (makes timing and focus easier!)
Light the background, not the drip. This tip works great for any small reflective object. Try putting a coloured piece of paper as a background and aim your flashes at that.
I really must have another go at the waterdrop thing, this was my last attempt (which used the above tips):
http://www.paulseward.com/photos/2009/june-2009/DSC_9081_drop1_medium.jpg.php
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Thanks, I’ll try lighting the background next time. I did it this way on this occasion because I was following a guide online 🙂
The freezer bag is also a good idea – I’ll bear it in mind.
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