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Blueberry Splash

by Jacko

The original idea was to take a photograph of blueberries and cream. I took a few shots and quickly realized it was lacking color and punch:



I decided to drop some blueberries in the cream to see if I could capture a splash. It really didn’t produce anything interesting.



I really got the best effects after 30 shots when I actually threw the blueberries in the cream.




I used a 500W light source to brighten the exposure big time. This was the only way I was going to be able to shoot at 1/800 second (indoors) and have sufficient lighting. I used my father’s old Super 8 movie camera (over 30 years old) for the shot. Actually, I used the spotlight that came with the camera for lighting.




I filled a pie plate with one inch of 18% cream. I’d place a blueberry in the cream and focus on it. Then I’d take the blueberry and throw it in the cream, trying to make it land where I had focused. You’d be surprised at how good you’ll get at timing the splash and the shutter after a few shots. The super fast shutter speed let me shoot the pictures free hand, since my tripod was being used to support my light source. I also used an aperture of F5.6 to increase the depth of field and increase the odds of having the shot in focus. Messy, messy fun.



I really liked the way the cream gave a different splash every time. Some other shots which turned out OK:



The original shot:



Final Submission – cropped out over half. Sharpened a little bit, adjusted levels and saturation.



I also posted some variations of the shots here: http://www.pbase.com/jacko/blueberry_splash

Rate This Tutorial!  2.782    Log in to rate this! 0 = Not Helpful up to 3 = Very Helpful. NR = No Rating. Questions? Feedback? Join the Discussion on this Tutorial