Jammy Dodger

These are the last two shots from last week that I will share.

Both of these were really unexpected, but they are really amazing.

Sweetness

I missed posting yesterday but I have come back with a few pictures that I think are really cool.

I had been dripping milk droplets in all my other shots but I thought I would try adding a splash of colour. Firstly I tried colouring things with some strawberry milkshake but it was too pale to stand out, then I used some Vimto but that didn't work as well as it had in water.

I finally settled on strawberry syrup (for ice cream) and although it was a little more difficult to control the drops the results were really nice. I was surprised to see the clear crystal like shapes that emerged. You might need to enlarge the image to really see them 

Cool As Milk

Three more shots from my lockdown session at the weekend.

These were the result of releasing the droplets from varying heights and I think they make for some cool images.

Say What You See

Two more shots today to show off some of the beautiful shapes and patterns created simply by squeezing droplets of milk from a syringe .

You never know what you will get each time, whether it is a flying droplet, a sharp peak or a random ripple.

I chose these images today for the smooth textured shapes. The second shot looks rather like an inverted ceiling rose, I was amazed at the symmetry from something so random.

I love the first image too and apart from a random ripple I wonder what you can see. A bit like when you see shapes in clouds I think that when you look at images like this you can see different things. For example perhaps you can see a spoon, perhaps an eye or maybe a swaddled baby.

Milk

So here is my second blog post for today, after a prolonged period with nothing you are getting a double dose. The first post "Poppy" was a splash of colour from my neighbour's garden and this second offering is a splash of creativity from my fridge...

You may have seen some of my earlier lockdown offerings a couple of weeks ago when I set up a macro studio and experimented with water droplets. I thought they were really cool and I liked the metallic look of the water and the amazing droplets. So I thought I would try a similar set up but this time using milk.

I got some amazing shots and as usual I will drip feed (pun intended) them over the coming days.

These were among my first efforts and my first mistake was using a plate with a green patterned rim so I have had to crop that out. 

The first image is a little soft and fuzzy but nonetheless I think it looks quite cool.

I like the tiny orb balanced on the sharp spike in the third shot.

But my favourite image is the second one which looks a bit like looking down on the eye of a storm or perhaps like something in the far reaches of space.

Timing is everything when getting these shots, you never know what you will get but it is definitely worth the time and effort, at least I think so.

Uprising

Here are the final few smoky blue images from last weekend's lockdown photo session.

I like all these images but the second is my favourite which I have actually rotated through 90 degrees. 

I think that there is something of the northern lights about these although perhaps the colours are wrong for that.

I don't know about you but when I look at the third picture I can see the profile of a face

Cool Blue

Two more smokey blue images.

The first of these images is cropped and rotated clockwise through 90 degrees and I think it works really well.

I still have a few more of these to share and will do so in the coming days although I may break things up with some splashes of spring colour from my garden, come back tomorrow to see what I pick...

Whorls and Swirls

Here are three more images from my smoking experiment.

As I said yesterday there is an element of chance when photographing things like water and smoke because you cannot easily control or predict what will happen. You just have to try and set the conditions as best you can and hope that with a bit of experimentation and a lot of patience you can get some decent images.

Yesterday's ribbons of smoke were fairly simple but after a little more practice I achieved these more intricate and really beautiful whorls and swirls.

Ribbons of Smoke

A second helping of creativity for today...

I have been trying to find ways to get my photography fix but it has been really challenging. I have going out for the occasional walk along the sea front but as that has been for exercise I have left my camera at home, it has been a shame though because there have been some stunning sunsets that would have been great to share. (I did snap a few shots on my mobile phone's camera but haven't uploaded them).

Anyway after experimenting with  water droplets recently I wondered if there was something else I could try using my macro lens and lighting setup and hit upon  smoke trails...

These were shot against a blue background, lit from each side using spotlights and frozen using fast shutter speeds and camera mounted ring flash. 

There is an element of chance with this type of photography because each shot is random and unique and can range from simple elegant ribbons of smoke to more complex swirls and curls. Apart from the third image I have stuck with some of the simpler patterns for today but I will be sharing some of the more dramatic shots over the next few days so be sure to look out for them.

As a side note while I was sorting through these images I was reminded of a beautiful bit of cinematography from the 1981 French movie "Diva" where a cigarette burning in an ashtray where the lighting and the curl of smoke mirrors  the cover of an old French cigarette packet.

Drip Drop

These are the last few of my water droplet images for now, I will try some more another day.

For the colour in these shots I  used Vimto in the first two switching to red food colouring in the last two. I wasn't sure how this would work out because the colour is so concentrated and as you can see it very quickly dispersed in the cold water.

I think they create some interesting effects.

Gloop!

So much good weather lately and so many missed opportunities to get out with my camera I haven't felt too motivated to post anything for a few days. 

I thought today however that having finished work I would get creative and mess about with a few more of my water droplet images. I hope you like the results. 

When a drop of water falls and hits the surface it happens so quickly and there is so much that the eye cannot see in that moment. I love the way that freezing the moment and making a few adjustments with highlights and shadows you can capture the texture of the water and in the second shot I love the bubbles or individual droplets that are forming within the spout extending from the top of the main element almost like extruding glass.

Apple Blossom Time

I only have a small garden but there is room for a couple of fruit trees which are a real joy all year round.

Today's blooms are apple blossom from the espaliered apple tree that borders one side of the garden. It is a James Grieve variety a variety that dates back to 1893. The first year the tree produced just one apple and it was quite an event harvesting it and sharing it around at home. Each year there is a growing crop and the fruit is nice and sweet. But I think the apple blossom is really beautiful with a very delicate fragrance. Its lovely to think that each of these blooms has the potential to develop into a delicious apple.

Montana

So after a week without posting anything I decided to get creative again and I spent a little time over the Easter weekend. First of all I went into the garden and took some macro shots of the early spring blooms before heading indoors to take some unusual shots of household items which I will get to later in the week.

For today here are some fairly standard shots of the stunning Clematis Montana var wilsonii that forms a colourful and fragrant border to the garden. It is amazing how quickly the mass of buds has exploded into a mass of delicate pink flowers with the chartreuse and white stamen rather like tiny boiled sweets at their hearts. It is beautifully fragrant and later in the year it will be replaced by the delicate colours and scent of honeysuckle.