This pair of water drop photos reminds me—and Solitaire on Flickr—of stained glass. They were taken first thing in the morning, down as low as possible, with the sun reflecting and refracting on a potted lobelia near our garden bench. I used my 200mm Nikon macro lens, naturally tripod-mounted, along with extension tubes and a +4 diopter close-up filter to get closer. This was one of those photo sessions that mean wiggling on one’s belly and getting covered with water and mud to find the right position. Thank you yoga and stretching exercises, and my kids for restoring my joy in playing with dirt!
I was asked about the photo below, “Is the drop real, or was it cloned in?”
I’m certainly not beyond cloning things in or out of photos (and I intend to discuss the techniques and ethics involved later in detail), but these are both pretty straight photographs, with only routine processing in Photoshop.
It’s interesting that some water drops are worlds, that one can look down into endless depths (here’s an example)—while others, like this pair, are colorful semi-translucent medallions. More like nature’s glass-blown jewelry than a trip into alternate realities.
View this photograph larger.
