We met at the Morean Arts Center to try out some techniques I saw on the
Strobist web site a while back. The setup is too simple; you set up a pan with water in it. Above that you hang a plasic bag filled with water and poke a hole with a needle to get a regular drip every second or so. With your camera on a tripod, you just start shooting and shoot until your card is full. Some of them will be keepers. Just that easy.
The setup
Here's a photo of the setup. I made the colored reflectors in Photoshop and printed them out on plain paper.
Some examples
Here are the technical info for Elaine Larimer's shots:
Canon 40D; 1/125 sec; F/6.3; Shutter priority; ISO 100, focal length 300mm on a Tamron 28-300 lens; Flash fired
Photos ©2009 Elaine Larimer
Final thoughts:
It seems that the shots looked best when the flash is set to a very low power setting since the duration of the flash is shorter at lower power. A tripod is a must. It's okay to use a low ISO because you'll be limited by the camera's maximum shutter sync speed anyway. As always, experimentation and patience are the keys to success. If you don't have a way to get your flash off your camera, you can still get great results with your flask on-camera.
Give it a try!
To see more of Elaine's work, click here.