How To Take... Water Splashes

I've often seen other people's photos of water splashing into a surface and thought I should have a go at it myself. With the My Year In Pictures project, I've kept a list of subjects I should try, to give some inspiration on days when it's not nice outdoors or I just can't think what to take.

Today, I had a go at some macro shots of water splashes. It's harder than it looks! You need a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, and a small aperture to give you maximum depth of field. Both of which mean you will have to use a high ISO setting and/or flood the image with light.

Some photographers use a high-speed stroboscopic flash to do the job for them - it recharges in a fraction of a second and allows several shots to be taken in one burst. But I don't have one, so I dug out an old 1000W video lamp from the back of a cupboard and tried that:

[Setup in my kitchen - bowl of water on stripey wrapping paper; camera turned vertically on tripod on left; the 1000W video light on second tripod to the right]

[Closer view of the camera and bowl with water bottle cap just seen at the top]

I was using my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens, fitted with a 12mm extension tube which allowed much closer focussing and greater magnification.

After much trial and error with the placement of the bowl, focus, position of the light and camera settings, I came up with the following as a reasonable set-up:

• ISO speed: 500
• Shutter speed: 1/1250th
• Aperture: f/6.3

I had tried using 1/1000th and f/4.0 but they weren't as sharp as I'd have liked - so I moved the light closer to the subject and got a better exposure.

The trick then is to drop a broken stream of water from the nozzle of a drinking water bottle with a sports cap. I had pre-focussed on a fork poked into the surface of the water (to get a proper focus point, otherwise you are focussed on the wrapping paper below which is no good for the splashes).

Then you have to try and aim the water drops into the same place as the fork was, whilst holding down the shutter button - I had the camera on high-speed motor drive. Take tens of shots and find the best half dozen!

[Splash! The water surface breaks up nicely when the first drops hit]

[Gravity Well - I like the way the falling stream makes a hole in the surface]

[Bubble Group - taking shots after the disturbances have died down can be equally rewarding]

The last picture here and my Pic of the Day for Day #29 show that you don't always have to photograph the turbulence to get some good pictures - handy if you don't have high speed motor drive.

I'll certainly be having another go at this sort of picture, perhaps with some different backgrounds and lighting. Why not give it a shot too?

Exhibition In Battersea

Since the beginning of December, I've had an exhibition of my rugby photographs at The Castle, a gastropub in Battersea High Street.

Last Sunday I invited a few friends over to have lunch and admire the pictures. The pub has recently been refurbished, and the pale wooden frames suited the new decor. Apparently the pictures are popular with the locals too!

Here's a few shots of how they look hanging on the wall (the pictures, not the locals...)

[A nice corner of the restuarant section]

[Two by the window]

[Scrum on some funky wallpaper]

[Hiding behind a plant!]

If you would like to see them for yourself, the exhibition runs until 31st January, so pop down quickly!

My Year In Pictures

After my enforced rest with my broken elbow/bashed knee last year, I decided that I would try to keep a photographic diary of 2008 - taking at least one picture every day, even when I'm just slogging away with work and not going anywhere interesting.

So far, I've managed to keep it up. I'm not sure they will all be masterpieces, but it's an interesting challenge to keep the momentum going, and not forget to take a shot each day.

You can see the results at my new blog, My Year In Pictures.

I'll still be writing bits and pieces here, but that will be more concerned with general photographic topics. I hope you enjoy reading both!

High ISO Noise Comparison

I have already talked a little about the effects of high ISO noise in a previous post. And one of the reasons I wanted to upgrade from my Canon EOS 300D to my new 30D was it's alleged better performance at high ISO settings, plus the ability to choose ISO 3200 in really dark situations, whereas the old camera would only go up to ISO 1600.

So I thought it might be useful to take a closer look at some photos taken with each camera, and see if things really are any better in dim conditions.

EOS 300D - Sigma 135-400mm EF f/4.5-f/5.6 - ISO 1600

Back in December 2005, I went to see Saracens play Wasps away in High Wycombe. It was a fairly late kickoff, and being December, it wasn't long before the floodlights were on and things were getting pretty dingy on the pitch. Here's a picture of ref Ashley Rowden supervising the scrum:

[The ref's head is highlighted above]

The picture doesn't look too bad resized for viewing on the web. But looking at it at full resolution, you'll see what happens:

[The highlighted section shown at Actual Pixels (100%) size]

You can see that the skin tones show noticeable coloured noise, and the black areas are also very mottled. The whole image is fairly soft and not very saturated.

EOS 30D - Canon 100-400mm EF L f/4.5-f/5.6 - ISO 1600 / ISO 3200 (HI)

Yesterday, I was back to see Saracens play Glasgow at home in Watford. Admittedly with a different lens, but it's the camera body itself which is the biggest factor in image quality in low light. By the second half, the floodlights were on again, and this is the first shot we'll look at taken at ISO 1600:

[The Scrum Half's head is the piece to be enlarged]

Again, the photo above is good quality at web resolution, but I think there's a definite improvement at full size:

[The second highlighted section shown at Actual Pixels (100%) size]

This time, the blacks are cleaner and there is less obtrusive coloured noise in the skin tones. It looks noticeably sharper, and the colours are more vivid.

Here's another one, as it was getting even darker. In order to keep the shutter speed up, the only option was to increase the ISO setting, since I was working at the lens' maximum aperture, f/5.6. So I used the ISO setting on HI - which basically means 3200:

[The Prop's head is the bit we're interested in]

I'm impressed with the web resolution image - certainly crisp, clean and good colours. And closeup?

[The third highlighted section shown at Actual Pixels (100%) size]

Pretty impressive! I'd say 3200 with the 30D looks better than 1600 with the 300D. So I reckon it's been a worthwhile upgrade for that alone. Plus the fact the 30D is much quicker a writing images to the Compact Flash card - vital when taking a sequence of high-speed action photos. With the old camera, I would often be left frustrated after following the action up the pitch - I'd miss a try because the camera was still unloading it's buffer to the card!

Needless to say, rugby in the dark days of winter push the capabilities of a camera quite hard. The speed of action and low light are both factors which probably won't bother you too much if you just take a few holiday snaps or family pictures with your SLR.

How To Take... Kids Portraits

I'm not a great proponent of formal portrait for adults, let alone kids. They rarely sit still and pose how you'd like, and I find the pictures usually end up looking stilted and a bit false. I admire photographers who can get good results from the studio, but I prefer a more candid approach.

Here are a selection of pictures I've taken of friends' kiddies.

[Alexander in front of a window, natural light. His mum was behind me]















[Lizzie getting very sticky when we were out having a cake. The table was in a covered courtyard with a great skylight above]














[Alexander gets a push from Dad. Overcast day, so I got rid of as much sky as possible from the composition. At the playground can be a great place for action shots.]

[Conor & Meghan posing in an old wing chair. Natural daylight from a patio door, and a tight crop to get rid of any background intrusions]

[William - was playing with his mum's hat, as we were about to go out. A bit of fill-in flash gave catchlights in the eyes, without being too harsh on his face]

It's best to get the children in question doing something - perhaps playing with their toys or dressing up. Or, if you're lucky, "caught in the act" of getting sticky, etc.

Of course, if the children aren't yours, you should always get their parents' permission before taking their picture.

How To Take... A Photo Essay

A Photo Essay is a set of pictures which tells a story. It need not be about anything profound, but the images must tell the story with little textual explanation. As you can see, each individual image is no masterpiece, but taken together they form a coherent set which fit together well.

For a bit of fun, I decided to photograph the story of my lunch a while ago. I used my Canon IXUS 850 IS, rather than waving my expensive camera over a frying pan. Here's what I came up with:

[1. Fresh Rashers - straight out of the pack]

[2. Into The Frying Pan... - a non-stick pan is essentail!]

[3. Sizzling Rashers - are browning nicely]

[4. Lashings Of Sauce - a good dollop of ketchup on the bacon is a must]

[5. The Perfect Bacon Sarnie - crispy bacon, malted brown bread, oozing with ketchup. Lovely!]

[6. Ketchup & Crumbs - is all that's left!]

Why not choose a subject and have a go at a photo essay about it? You might be surprised what you come up with!

Out And About Again

After five weeks of frustration, hobbling and a sore elbow, I'm finally able to get about a bit better now, and spent a lovely morning wandering round Galleywood Common, close to where I live.

The autumn colours were in full force [left, Autumn Oak leaf] and the sun was out, with a blue sky all round. It was a bit cool, but I didn't mind.

And despite living close by for 4+ years, I'd never set foot in Galleywood Churchyard (it's set back off the road and up a track to nowhere else, so you have to want to visit!). I spent a happy half hour wandering round finding pictures, as the leaves were turning orange and the sun was backlighting them in a lovely way.

[Rest In Peace - the sun streams through the leaves and provides a vibrant backdrop to the gravestones]

[Divine Light - I loved the way the rays were caught on camera]

Although I was out and about, I only had my Canon Ixus 850 IS with me, but I'm very pleased with the results I managed to get from the camera. You can see some more shots in the General Colour - 11 Gallery on my photo website.

Out Of Action

Not sure when I'll be out and about to take photos again - I've had an accident which has bashed up my left knee and broken my left elbow - so holding a heavy SLR is out of the question at the moment!

I'll just have to stay at home and watch a bit of rugby - there's plenty on the telly at the moment...

I've even watched the reruns of the two Rugby World Cup games I saw in France. Here's a shot from the England vs USA game in Lens.

Coupe du Monde en France

I was lucky enough to take a trip to the Rugby World Cup which started in France on Friday. I was on a tour which took in the Opening Ceremony, first game with France vs Argentina in Paris, then England vs USA in Lens the next evening. The trip was a lot of fun.

The links above give you photos from the two games, but I also took some shots in and around the ground to illustrate the ambience and lively atmosphere.

Outisde the ground, fans of all allegencies were mingling happily, just enjoying the colourful sideshows and rival fans. Not sure why this Frenchman looked embarrassed to have his photo taken - what did he expect, wearing an enormous yellow Chicken costume?!

Although the first game was heavily supported by the French, there were a good few fans from other nationalities in attendance - I saw Irish, Kiwis, Aussies and lots of English - plus a good number of Argentinians who were rewarded for their travel by their team beating France convincingly!

The greatest thing about rugby is how all the supporters get along with each other - none more so than these English and Argentine fans [below, showing some Entente Cordiale]. Most of the English I was with were supporting the Pumas agains the French - we'd obviously forgotten all about the Falklands debacle, but not forgiven the French for Waterloo...


There was a great party atmosphere inside the stadium, as seen below:


And right at the end of the opening ceremony, we were treated to a fly-past by crack French aerobatic display team, La Patrouille de France.


I would have liked a wide angle view with them flying over the top of the stadium, but I had the long lens fitted and there was about 2 seconds' notice of their arrival!

Big Band Sendoff

The Rugby World Cup has rolled around again pretty quickly, and I was in Regents Park this afternoon for the Scrum In The Park event. The fans were able to see the England Rugby team training some lucky kids, there was a double-decker bus to sign with good wishes, and a Military Band provided the music to send off the team in stirring style. You can see more photos of the rugby-related stuff at rugbypix.com, but here are a few images of the colourful Busby-clad band.

[The Busbies Are Coming - the marching band approaches]

[Trombone Troupe - they have to keep their distance from the row in front!]

[Sargeant Sax - can he really see out from underneath that Busby?]

[Sargeant Trombone - it was a wonder they didn't get their trombone sliders tangled up with all the criss-cross marching]