Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II - CAMERA
85 mm - LENS
F 5.6 - F-STOP
1/125 sec - SHUTTER SPEED
100 - FILM SPEED
Flash - LIGHT SOURCE
Caution is always the staple of any shoot that mixes 4000w of electricity with water, consequently I made sure that all four of the flash heads were wrapped in plastic to avoid impromptu flying trips across the studio. It is also worth noting that the make and model of the flash used will have an effect on how the falling water droplets appear in the finished image. I was using the older model Bowens Esprit 500w monobloc heads, these are great multi purpose studio and location lights but they are certainly not renowned for their short flash duration. Monobloc flash heads like these will light up quickly but will still glow as the flash fades. This may not seem to the human eye as slow, but when flash durations range from 1/700th of a second to 1/7000th it can have a dramatic effect on how sharp your final image will look. When shooting relatively stationary objects or portraiture it goes unnoticed, but when you are trying to capture fast moving objects like water droplets it can create an issue. The flash can capture the droplets with its initial burst but as the light fades it is still capturing the image as the droplet falls further, resulting in the droplet to appear as if it is travelling up not down. The type of photography you do should have a distinct effect on the flash unit you choose, if your planning on shooting a lot of fast moving objects or people like dancers then choosing a flash unit with a short flash duration is paramount.