Special Effects and Splashes.

      I needed to pick up a few extra credits, so I decided to take a Special Effects Photography class with a friend. One of the techniques we tried last night was high-speed splash photography. The process involves a container that can be adjusted to release water droplets at a specific interval. The droplets pass through a laser beam that is wired to trigger a flash. A camera is set up where the droplet hits a pool of water, thus capturing a splash photo the moment the flash fires. The laser can be adjusted to trigger the flash at different points during the splash, resulting in photographs of the "crown", the "bulb", or the ripples. Also, to add interest, colored gel sheets can be held in front of the flash to create certain moods using solid or mixed colors. These are some of my favorites!

This the contraption my professor designed that changes the delay of the flash via droplet position.

Two students check the delay of the flash. 

A side view of the setup. The red squiggle is the laser. The bucket was captured with the flash, and the laser and TV screen were captured as I left the camera shutter open and moved it about. 

My friend Evan making adjustments to the setup and his camera. There appear to be three of him because I left my camera's shutter open for three consecutive flashes, capturing him three times.

 Now to the fun part: