MichaelChang Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 <p>An amateur photographer mixes guar gum with water and food dye then releases droplets from a remote controlled valve into a bowl of water. The set-up is at the bottom of the page and the results are quite interesting:<br> <a href="http://hotnewshome.com/2011/11/29/water-droplets-photographs-by-heinz-maier/3995">http://hotnewshome.com/2011/11/29/water-droplets-photographs-by-heinz-maier/3995</a></p> <p>I like image #5 for its unusual splash pattern and complementary colours. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelChang Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 <p>Correction: it appears the thickener is mixed with water in the bowl and droplets of coloured water is released into it. </p> <p>Presumably the thickened fluid acts as a trampoline of sorts to give the droplets of water a harder yet compliant surface from which to bounce.</p> <p>Lots going on there. Maybe you have a better analysis. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_mann1 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 <p>Great find -- great pictures. Thanks, Michael.</p> <p>Tom M</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drjoder Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 <p>Definitely the best of that genre that I have seen so far--very creative and technically perfect.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>That is cool and impressive.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelChang Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>I was intrigued by his apparently automated setup - sure enough it's a kit specifically designed for water drop photography and available commercially:<br> <a href="http://www.cognisys-inc.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=129">http://www.cognisys-inc.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=129</a></p> <p>The kit appears to come with one water-valve/drop-dispenser. </p> <p>What makes these pictures special to me is:</p> <ul> <li>The additional 4 solenoid valves which seem to release droplets sequentially (inferred from the photos) - You can see the colored tubes of fluids connected to the solenoid valves. In picture #7, we see a blue drop sitting on top of the orange splash. </li> <li>The use of guar gum, still not sure why apart from my guess above, and the photographer has clearly given a lot of thought into this exercise. </li> <li>The lighting, which I have no idea how it was done; it makes everything come to life. </li> </ul> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelChang Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>Lots more great images from the hardware maker:<br> [<a href="http://www.cognisys-inc.com/customer_photos/customer_gallery.php?osCsid=ac635ce1261fdb3487d5620a45901b8b">Link 1</a>]<br> [<a href="http://www.cognisys-inc.com/more_photos/photo_gallery.php?osCsid=ac635ce1261fdb3487d5620a45901b8b">Link 2</a>]</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>That is absolutely amazing.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_jeanette1 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>Is the Beer in the background of picture 13 part of the setup, or the inspiration?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Cavan Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>Thank you Michael. The pictures are like snowflakes - always random, never two the same.</p> Dave Cavan https://davecavanphotographics.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauren_macintosh Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>What we would miss with out people like Heinz Maier to show us that world : Thank Michael for posting this</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim_Lookingbill Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>Freeze framing God's molecular playground. Incredible shots. Looks better than some glass blown art I've come across.</p> <p>There's only one tiny thing that bugs me about this in that is associating this technique with Heinz Maier which seems to be a bit premature since the Cognisys gallery shows others with just as fantastic looking water droplet shots that I couldn't tell them apart with regards to technique. Clearly God is the creative genius here.</p> <p>I guess the more controlled the process in the photography the harder it is to distinguish who did what unless the photographer includes his name with the shot.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelChang Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>Tim, I think the page only mentioned that the photographer used the technique rather than "invented" it. </p> <p>I've come across a number of these interesting works but most were for demonstration purposes of physics and chemistry principles; the idea of creating art is possible but rarely done. </p> <p>Notably was vibrating non-Newtonian fluids (fancy word for corn starch and water) on a speaker and seeing the resulting monster-like sculpture created as you tune around the resonant frequency. </p> <p>Another one is playing with magnets and ferrofluids, again, weird shapes begin to take place. </p> <p>One that I've played with is dissolving Sodium Acetate in near boiling water, wait till it cools, then introduce impurities and watch the fluid solidify (while giving off heat). I got the ingredients from discarded hospital body warmers. Now I can imagine using coloured fluid and pouring (or dripping) it while watching it solidify into what resembles a termite cathedral mound; might make an interesting photo or time-lapse video. </p> <p>There are lots of posts of these experiments on YouTube. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bellenis Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 <p>I've seen a lot of photography of water droplets and thought I'd seen it all, but these are really wonderful images - unique shapes, colors and clearly he has approached it with a passion. Thanks for sharing this, I'm totally impressed. </p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 Check out the amazing results at www.snaperturepro.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 This is produced using the self-same device DropGreen.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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