When the weather isn’t so nice, I often look toward other forms of photography to keep me busy. Photographing water droplet collisions turns me into a bit of a mad scientist, but it also reminds me of the beauty and complexity of nature.
Just as raindrops collide and create intricate patterns on the surface of a pond, I have a fairly elaborate setup that I have cobbled together over the years to capture similar moments. I use a “camera trigger” that is activated through my iPhone to precisely drop a water drop, followed by a delay and then a second water drop. While this is taking place, my camera fires as well as several off-camera flashes.
Adjusting the droplet size and the time between droplets results in some crazy images that resemble the chaotic yet mesmerizing patterns found in nature. I use colored plastic over the flashes as well as dyes in the water to add a bit more contrast to the images, much like how the vibrant colors of flowers or the iridescence of a butterfly’s wings captivate our attention.
All of this takes place in complete darkness, using the flashes to help capture the exposure, similar to how a single beam of sunlight can illuminate a water droplet on a leaf, revealing a hidden world of beauty and wonder.
The Marblehead Current is proud to partner with photographer Rick Cuzner, who has been photographing local wildlife for over 16 years.
