Liquid Art High Speed Macro Photography

Macro Photography  •  Photography Tips

There are different approaches to take when photographing drops of liquid, some more technical than others. When artist, Markus Reugels, came across a photographic collection of water drops he was instantly drawn. That’s when he took it upon himself to create some high-tech tools to help him create the photographs he envisioned. Using a microprocessor and accompanying graphic interface, Reugels pins his photography down to a science. Take a look at his impressive setup here:

Reugels has fine tuned his process, right down to the mixture he uses to thicken the water. By combining pure water with guar gum and alcohol, the consistency of the water is just right to create interesting texture and pattern as the drops hit the pan of pure water water below.  To add color to the water and background, food coloring or printing ink is added to the mixture.  Using standard water drop lighting techniques–a speedlight and sheet of plexiglass–the images are all backlit. Ruegels, sometimes uses color gels to boost background color.

“I always start each series with a certain goal in my head: a picture with a certain form, for example an umbrella or a wine glass. Actually achieving that picture, though, is often down to luck.”