And apparently good for photographing too.
Yesterday I rocked out of bed raring to go (in other words I stumbled out of bed around 9) looked outside and saw a dull overcast day. Now while the clouds on an overcast day act as a giant softbox in the sky creating very soft light, it's also very flat and boring light.
So determined to get some shots I reverted to something I've done before, liquid photography. However unlike last time where I simply hung a glove full of water above a frying pan and poked a hole in the glove, this time I though I'd get a bit more organised about the whole thing and went and bought a syringe and some 3mm tubing. That let me sit behind the camera with shutter release in 1 hand, and plunger in the other.
The other big change was the liquid... MILK.
Now milk has a higher viscosity than water, meaning it tends to "stick together" a little better and create some cooler shapes. This combined with the new "drip delivery system" meant I was finally able to capture some collisions. This is where one drop plunges into the water, and as it starts to extend back upwards, it's hit by a second drop pancaking it and making like a mushroom shape.
Next step I think will be some sort of electronic timing rig and probably replacing the plunger with an electronic valve so I can precisely control the rate and size of the drops. While that will take some of the luck out if it, then I can focus on adding different colours (food dye anyone?) and trying different lighting.
But that's something I may look at on a cold and wet winters day.
In the mean time, sheer luck and many a shutter press has left me with a few pictures I happen to think are pretty cool looking. If you want to see more of these, just click the pictures, or follow the "Liquid Photography" link on the left.