Para mais informações sobre os módulos de splash, clique aqui.

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

Informações: pos-graduacao@up.com.br, www.posup.com.br

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

Informações: pos-graduacao@up.com.br, www.posup.com.br

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

Para mais informações sobre os módulos de splash, clique aqui.

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

Para mais informações sobre os módulos de splash, clique aqui.

Para entrar em contato com o Centro Europeu: (41) 3222-6669

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

A fotografia de splash é uma subárea da fotografia de estúdio que esteve durante décadas inacessível a amadores. As razões eram duas. A primeira: os altos custos dos equipamentos especiais, de tempo e até do próprio material fotográfico, já que a natureza mesma desse tipo de foto envolve um processo de tentativa e erro que, para iniciantes, pode ser extremamente dispendioso. A segunda razão é que a arte necessária para um desempenho certeiro era um conhecimento secreto, detido por uma elite profissional que não tencionava dividi-lo nem sequer com colegas, tanto menos com amadores.

Nos últimos anos, duas grandes transformações tornaram esse cenário muito mais favorável ao fotógrafo amador. A indústria passou a oferecer equipamentos mais baratos, precisos, automáticos e de operação mais simples. Além disso, um novo mercado didático se abriu graças à internet: posts em blogs tornaram diversas técnicas fotográficas acessíveis e populares.

O que tentamos fazer neste blog com a série Receitas de Splash foi cobrir a lacuna que havia nessa área. Focamos nos quatro princípios que governam a fotografia de splash, mas o assunto está longe de se esgotar somente neles. É a partir deles que executamos técnicas específicas, de fato derivadas desses princípios, mas com suas particularidades. Por exemplo, tanto uma foto de um champanhe estourando quanto uma foto de um cubo de gelo caindo num copo se encaixam no que chamamos de “splash de alto impacto” — e no entanto cada uma envolve técnicas diferentes; do set e das traquitanas à iluminação e ao tipo de sensor. O produto desse período se cristalizou no livro Estúdio, recém-lançado pela Editora Photos.

O próximo passo natural é ir do geral para o específico, isto é, adotar uma abordagem mais orientada a artifícios do que a princípios. E como atentar às técnicas específicas é consoante a um ensino mais concentrado, decidimos seguir por duas mãos em 2012: além de posts no blog, teremos workshops aqui no estúdio — uma vez ao mês, sempre aos sábados.

Para contemplar essa nova abordagem, dois módulos foram elaborados, com duração de 8 horas cada um. Os módulos são independentes, mas é claro que o aluno que cursar qualquer um deles poderá extrair ainda mais conhecimento do segundo, já que há em todo o conteúdo elementos gerais da fotografia de splash. De início, a ideia é que ambos os módulos se alternem em diferentes datas ao longo do ano, mas há também em perspectiva a criação de novos módulos para os workshops de splash.

Módulo I – carga horária: 8 horas

Neste módulo serão observadas duas técnicas: explosão de balões d’água (clique aqui para ver exemplos da técnica) e colisão de gotas (clique aqui para ver exemplos da técnica). No caso dos balões, entre os tópicos contemplados, praticaremos:

• materiais e manipulações: resistência e suporte;
• sensores: de som, infravermelhos e a laser;
• a dinâmica do impacto: diferentes maneiras de provocar a explosão do balão;
• proteção: recursos específicos desse set para evitar que a água se alastre pelo estúdio.

Para a prática de colisão de gotas, alguns dos temas propostos são:

• gotejadores: como construir um sistema de gotejamento barato, simples e eficaz;
• timing: como estimar o tempo preciso para obter o efeito da colisão;
• flashes: portáteis e tochas de estúdio;
• cores: manipulação cromática da luz com cinegel e de líquidos com misturas diversas;
• ondulação: como controlar a marola da água sob a colisão.

Módulo II – carga horária: 8 horas

Serão observados outras duas técnicas: impactos em alta velocidade (clique aqui para ver exemplos da técnica) e mergulhos (clique aqui para ver exemplos da técnica). Sob o rótulo de impactos em alta velocidade, estudaremos:

• tratamento de refrescância: a preparação do sujeito para dar a impressão de baixa temperatura;
• alinhamento e dropping: como extrair consistência da ação em alta velocidade, com o máximo de controle;
• disparadores automáticos e sincronização completa: como congelar uma cena em alta velocidade;
• fundo e base: técnicas de isolamento do sujeito e refinamento dos elementos exteriores;
• sensores de som: teoria e prática dos parâmetros de sensibilidade e atraso.

• incidência e reflexão: compreensão e aplicação prática dos ângulos da luz;
• resistência da água e modo de impacto: técnicas para o impacto do splash;
• forma e textura: análise e escolha do sujeito para o mergulho;
• posicionamento e sequência: técnicas para a plasticidade do splash.

Além disso, estudaremos aspectos específicos de cada uma das técnicas, mas presentes em qualquer sessão de fotografia de estúdio, como:

• construção do set: lista de itens e instruções de montagem, buscando sempre soluções acessíveis;
• iluminação: características particulares de cada técnica;
• segurança: medidas para proteção pessoal e do equipamento;
• trouble-shooting: resolução de problemas e gerenciamento de imprevistos.

Os workshops se destinam a quem pretende se aprofundar no conhecimento da fotografia, especialmente na área de splash, e acontecerão uma vez ao mês, sempre aos sábados, de 9h–18h, com pausa de uma hora para o almoço. O local será o mesmo estúdio profissional onde foram realizados quase todos os splashes que podem ser vistos aqui e munido de todo o equipamento profissional sofisticado, então, será como beber direto da fonte. As inscrições devem ser feitas por email, no endereço tony@tonygenerico.com.br. Dúvidas e sugestões também podem ser encaminhadas para esse mesmo email.

A turma é limitada a 15 alunos. Cada aluno, com sua câmera, terá a chance de fotografar seu próprio splash e receberá ao final do workshop um certificado de participação. O investimento é de R$400. Há desconto de 10% para inscrições antecipadas até 7 dias da data do workshop. Há ainda desconto de 20% de desconto para alunos que já participaram de workshops anteriores.

Para manter-se informado sobre os próximos workshops, você pode acompanhar o calendário pelo próprio blog, acompanhar o perfil do Facebook ou enviar um email para se inscrever em nossa mailing list e receber as novidades diretamente na sua caixa de entrada.

Para workshops a serem realizados fora de nosso estúdio, consulte-nos por email.

Bem-vindos ao desafio dos splashes naturais!

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

• the gadget itself, which can be seen in all its simplicity on the set;
• a saline plastic bottle of sorts, which can be seen in (1), and will contain the water;
• an infrared sensor, as in (2) like the one used in the last post;
• the photo triggers in (3);
• a flash (4);
• a small recipient (5) — and this is the essencial set, which can be further sophisticated by the addition of:
• a small drop-catcher (6);
• a bottle (7);
• a strobe head (8);
• a light diffuser (9).

The most important feature of this gadget is to allow the droplet to fall exactly on the same spot each time, and it works rather simply. First off, the photographer must pre-focus on some small stand-in object precisely placed in the spot where the drop falls. Then, in the twilight, the photographer opens the shutter in B mode. Once he opens the valve, the water drips — the dripping is controlled by a valve on the tube, and in the early tries, it’s easier to let one drop at a time. As soon as the droplet reaches the level of the photo triggers, they send a signal to the infrared device, which in turn triggers the flash. The photographer releases the shutter button and it’s done.

Now, of course that if the infrared triggered the flash instantly, the camera would register mere still water in the recipient. In order to capture some action, the infrared must be delayed a little bit before it triggers the flash — and we’re talking miliseconds here. This adjustment is regulated by a delay button, which determines how long the infrared will wait before triggering the flash. It’s up to the photographer to choose the precise stage of the action.

The only difference between setups A and B is that in setup B there is a small catcher connected to a bottle below the tube. The purpose of this addition is to allow for pictures showing drops colliding in the air, a technique known as “colliding drops”. This basically happens as follows: a drop hits the water, dives in, bounces up and at that precise moment comes a new drop to hit it in mid-air. To achieve that, there must be a regular frequency in the dripping, unlike in A. Let it be noted that this frequency must be hairsplittingly adjusted, so the drops hit one another. However, if we simply let it drip nonstop, the water in the recipient will become a mess of ripples and bubbles — hence the catcher. By rotating it in and out of the way, we’re allowed to maintain a steady frequency on the valve and yet interrupt the flow in order to preserve our small pool placid. We also want the set to remain tidy, so all the extrenuous water that goes in the catcher is collected in the plastic bottle in (7), which can also be recycled afterwards, especially if it’s a prepared colored mixture.

Note that when shooting colliding drops, if you’re using a small flash that recharges quickly, instead of setting the shutter to open in B mode, adjust it for 1 second, which is enough time to capture the collision while avoiding double exposure.

Now, in C there’s the option of using a diffuser and a different light source. This is shown in order to demonstrate that, even if small flashes aren’t your thing, this set is still easy to carry around, with bigger and yet portable strobe heads, which will of course yield different light quality, as can be seen in the examples below — the first shot with an Nikon SB 24 and the following with Broncolor strobe heads.

These forms, plastic and iconic, simple in elements and yet of a complex but cohesive geometry were invisible , as quasars and proteins, until 20th-century technical and industrial developments in photography, as the human eye fails to capture so brief a moment amidst the splashing chaos of creation. Today, we are able to see in pristine detail nature’s charm and beauty through high-speed photography, capturing it in, as it were, a state of grace. The resulting image is called a liquid sculpture, and it lies halfway between two kinds of works of art, the spontaneous and the ephemeral, brought together by the artist’s guidance and technique.

Aside of the basics, any experimentation is possible. Consider modifying the water by dying it or even replacing it with any other liquid, such as milk. Changes in light direction, use of color gels, assemblage more flashes for more power or different lighting special effects, anything will lead to different and valuable creative outputs.

Have fun!

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

The role of the sensor is to trigger the strobe at an exact point in time — a moment so brief that would render it impossible for humans to precisely trigger the flash on their own. In the last two Splash Recipes, that moment was short, alright, but not like a balloon burst, which happens at about 1/6000 second. To get the strobe to flash at such a precise point in time, we need an photo trigger.

On this third post of our series, we’ll exemplify that by shooting an ice cube falling into a glass of water. More precisely, we want to capture the moment when the cube hits the water and splashes, like in this picture:

In order to accomplish this, we will need:

• 1 ice cube (preferably an acrylic prop, since it is practically and aesthetically more appealing than the real thing);
• 1 glass;
• 1 black backdrop;
• 1 small piece of white Formica (mine is 15″ x 24″);
• 1 homemade sound-activated trigger.

As you can see, the glass is above the white bended Formica: that enables you to shoot aligning your horizontal line with the bottom of the glass with a seamless white base below. Also, the black backdrop — instead of the continuous white Formica typical of table-tops — allows more snap to the splash.

The gadget you see in the picture is an 8-levels channel from which the ice cube can be dropped. It’s very useful in building your references when you’re still figuring out how to control height, speed and targeting, but with practice, you may get the hang of it without it — bear in mind, though, that even long-time practice won’t save you from breaking a few glasses without such a gadget. Other crucial factors to take into consideration, aside from the height of the fall, are the amount of water in the glass, its diameter and the size of the ice cube. Try out different combinations and see what pleases you most.

So, what we did first was to connect the sensor to the high-speed strobe and to the camera. These sound triggers generally have at least two controls: sensitivity, which controls how loud the sound input will have to be, and delay, which controls how long the sensor should take to trigger the flash and the camera once it receives the sound input. We set the delay a tad bit late, because we didn’t want the system to click exactly when the ice hit the water, but only when we had got a nice splash — we’re talking milliseconds here, mind you.

After that, we tested some levels from which to drop the ice and chose no. 2, which gave us our preferred splash. It’s a few inches above the target and, even so, the gadget tilted a bit and we lost a glass. It was no big deal, but since broken glass may come in your way here, you’d better be careful and take the usual measures to avoid serious accidents in such cases.

Once this has been built up by some trial and error, the shot is the fun part. It amounts to releasing the ice onto the target, because the impact on the water will be loud enough to activate the sensor, which triggers the high-speed flash and the camera shutter. This shooting action in its entirety should last 1 second, which, considering the time scale we’re dealing with, is an eternity.

This Article is also available in Portuguese.

Before we get into it, let’s have a look at our sample below. This red and yellow bell peppers shot was conceive for Kodak during a workshop promoting the release of their DCS digital back in São Paulo a few years ago. Later it turned into a cover story for the magazine Fotografe Melhor # 76:

In such pictures, it seems as if the water is flowing smoothly upon and around the subject, rather than splashing all over the place. Well, there are in fact three variables to watch for in order to control this flow: 1) the height from which you let the fluid fall, 2) the amount of water, 3) the nature of the surface and design of the recipient upon which it lands. Studying these three factors closely, you can refine your technique that can be applied to a great variety of situations. So, on to the recipe! For this setup you will need:

• 1 sawhorse;
• 1 tabletop (about 20″ x 30″);
• 1 black acrylic plate 1/4 ” thick, covering about the same area;
• 1 thin transparent plastic sheet covering a larger area (about 30″ x 50″);
• 1 glass bowl like the one shown in the first picture;
• 1 silver card;
• Some nice selection of fresh bell-peppers (in our case, red and yellow, Kodak brand colors)
• 1 water jar or other vessel;
• 1 bucket;
• 1 black backdrop.

You will also need for sure to coordinate this action and the exposure with a skillful  assistant . Here is a shot that gives you a basic idea of what the set should look like:

Also of note is that we chose an acrylic surface on account that it is waterproof material. Without such feature, the session would be rendered almost unfeasible, given the trouble of changing the wet surface every new shot. Now that we have the basic setup clear, let’s go on to the steps needed to produce our shot:

1. Have the tabletop on the sawhorse — slightly inclined backwards, so as to facilitate the flowing of excess water down the bucket.
2. Place the plastic sheet in between the tabletop and the acrylic surface, rolling up the sides and the front, making some sort of pool. Roll the rest of the plastic in the rear as a channel, clipping it to the bucket to avoid the water leaking out all over the studio floor — this way you will be able to recyle the water for new tries.
3. Position the bowl over the plate about 2/3 far from the front.
4. Have your soft-box with a high-speed flash perpendicular to the bowl, leaving enough room behind it for the action.
5. Assemble a black backdrop a few feet away from the set.
6. Mount your camera on the tripod and pre-focus at the desired angle.
7. Choose your bell peppers and, when arranging them, leave a gap underneath, so that the water flows strategically in between and around the glassware and the peppers.
8. Refine your lighting using a silver card in order to bring out the highlights on one of the sides of the bowl.
9. At this point, it’s best to compose, light, meter and click the scene without any liquid, as if it were the final shot. This is done as a back-up post-production shot, just in case your best splash needs some cleaning up during retouching.
10. Rehearse. With the help of an assistant, try out several different ways to provoke the desired flow. It’s also a good opportunity to adjust to one another’s timing.
11. Once you are done, watch the action from above the camera, with your finger ready on the shutter-release, instead of peeping through the viewfinder. This way you won’t miss the right timing.

With this we end yet another Splash Recipe. Best of luck!

This Article is also available in Portuguese.