Freeze motion splash and another question

[turboz]

Hi all,

Some of you may have seen this posted by Dave elsewhere in the forum. (Larger version is here http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=463380330&size=o)

Question is, would it look better to overlay additional ice cubes in motion (i'd need to repeat my setup as I didn't capture them at the time)?
Since I'm really new to the DSLR hobby (I got a Nikon D80 and 18-135mm lens 1 month ago), do I progress to try new things, or do I go back and repeat setups that gave me a (relatively) good result to try and make them better?
i.e. should I keep trying lots of new things, or go back to something I did well and try and improve on it?


For anyone who's interested how I got the image; this was done with a fixed shutter speed at 1/125s and using a small (SB400) flash gun angled at 60degrees. The coloured water's splash, from a dropped ice cube, was then captured (with trial and error) with my other finger on the shutter release. Yes it was a bit messy.
The post-image processing was mainly around the exposure and colour balance - the original background was a dark blue towel! ;-)

[Dave]

Try new things and practice what you've learnt is always a good bet. This is a great photo without adding to it IMO .... but I'm just your dad :)

Can I mention at this point the great photo tutorial site you have been using for your rapid learning curve at Ken Rockwell http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech.htm

(Note : thread move to photography section)

[Happy]

[QUOTE=turboz]...Question is, would it look better to overlay additional ice cubes in motion ...do I progress to try new things, or do I go back and repeat setups that gave me a (relatively) good result to try and make them better?
i.e. should I keep trying lots of new things, or go back to something I did well and try and improve on it?...[/QUOTE]

Hi turboz and congrats on the new camera. My first advice - read the manual. :D

I like the freeze motion you captured. Whether or not additional ice cubes would make it look better would be a personal choice. What I like about this photo is the splash. More ice cubes might be a distraction.

In answer to your other questions - YES. Always keep trying new things - that's how you learn. Going back to something you did well and trying to improve on it will keep you motivated to try something new. What a wonderful circle that is.

Most important is to have fun!

:flash:

[burndog]

Hey turboz, first off, I just love that shot...very dramatic. the dark background works so nicely here. The splash hads lots of excitement. Not to sound too critical, but the only thing I do not like about it is how it is cropped at the stem. I really think it would make for a stronger image with the bottom showing (so it may be worth a reshoot)

Personally I think I agree with happy about introducing more icecubes. I think it is best to keep things as simple as absolutely possible. Less is almost always more. The more you introduce the more you risk making distractions, and the harder they will be to control.

For what it's worth, I took a couple of pics over the weekend that I was very happy with and went back this evening to reshoot in higher resolution thinking that I may enlarge one. Of course with the lighting slightly different I could not get even close to what I did previously. But while I was out I saw things that I had previously not seen, so I ended up with something completely different.

So what I am trying to say is that I believe that reshooting can be a great exercise, and if you can control your conditions and believe that you can improve on the shot, then for sure I think you will learn. If you can't improve it then you may see something differently that you did not previously see and end up something even better than before.

Years ago I took a course in Visualization. The best photography course I ever took. At first you select a spot outside with a radius of about 30 feet. Quickly blast off 30 exposures of whatever you first find interesting. Then sit for 30 minutes without taking any pictures, but just be observant. Then take another 30 images. You can not believe how much better the second lot is. We all shot slides so the following week we got back together and we viewed everyones two lots of images and in each case the second set was always more interesting.

In short, as long as you are using your camera, you will be learning. Just make sure that you keep it fun, if reshooting sounds like work, then let it go and go on to something else...the main thing is to enjoy it.