Photo Project: Water Sculptures

Okay. After getting the jolt of inspiration from the website I told you about in my previous post, I decided to try my hand at something I've never done before. I know that this kind of thing has been done to the death by many others, and probably with much better results. The only thing I can say is, this is my take on a very popular theme.

The setup took some time as I couldn't decide which lens to use, which flash power setting to use, what aperture to use, and what shutter speed to use (this is my first time at this sort of thing, remember?). Anyway, once that was sorted out, then came the toughest part: timing.

I'm not sure how many shots I took, but I can say that it was a lot! But, the end result was worth every bit of patience. For the backgrounds that you see in the photos, they were merely plastic folders, blue and black.

If you decide to try this yourself, here's a tip: make sure your room is a bit dim. It allows you to see the flash better and you can actually tell whether you got the shot or not. It also helps you in getting your timing right.

Here are the fruits of my labour. This are the best picks of the bunch in my opinion.

Hope you enjoy them!

Flash fired straight on

Flash fired straight on

Flash fired at 90 degrees right

Flash fired straight on

All photos were shot using the following setup:

Flash @ 1/128 power, 70-300 with extension tubes at f/16, 1/180 shutter speed.

Kota Belud Trip

Went to Kota Belud yesterday with the intention of enjoying the yearly Tamu Besar (tamu means open air market) but that wasn't to be. It not only had been raining the since early morning (so that was sure to put a damper on activities) but to make matters worse, there was hardly anything to see! We went to the tamu grounds expecting throngs of people, but all we saw were several sellers just setting up their stalls.

So, with nothing happening at the tamu grounds, we drove around Kota Belud for some sightseeing and were rewarded with some rather beautfiul scenery. Of course, we had to make do with the weather which just couldn't seem to decide whether it wanted to rain or stay dry.

Kota Belud has some wonderful scenery. Pity that Mt. Kinabalu was totally covered by clouds...

Dark clouds looming

Shots of the raging water near the small 'dam'. The water was a greenish colour which didn't look very nice. So decided to change the photo into black and white. I'd say it looks like a cracker! Don't you think?

Another take at a different angle of the same place.