Recipe For Fun

Written by: Tiffany Joyce

The following post was guest post by Jen Royce and If you would like to see more of her work you can check it out here.

You will need:

• 1 fruit of your choice (can be substituted for object of choice)
• 1 working faucet
• 1 camera
• 2 cups patience
• 4 cups persistance
• 1 Photographer willing to get wet

Now that you have the recipe, let’s get started. You’re bored. You haven’t a human photo subject around.  You scratch your chin, and begin to get discouraged. But wait! There’s possibility in that thing that keeps your food and beverages cold!  You walk over to the fridge and take out an apple. There’s nothing really fantastic about an apple. It’s red, or green…sometimes yellow. Sure they taste good. But what can we do with it? 

You eyeball your kitchen sink. The sun seems to be hitting the right spot…just under the faucet. Hmm. I think you might have an idea don’t you? You walk over, place the apple under the faucet. Turn it on so it’s dripping ever so slowly. Ah-ha.  A photo subject that won’t break your wallet…or talk back for that matter! You turn your faucet off for a moment. Because that would be wasteful to leave on while you went to get your camera. Let’s face it; everyone is going green these days.

Now you have your camera and lens of choice. You opt for an 18-55mm lens, you’ll try the macro out later. You check to make sure your memory card is ready…you’ll be taking lots of pictures today. Then you switch your camera to Shutter Priority mode. You wonder if you should use the flash so you decide to try it with it on first. Then go from there.  Alright, we’ve got a set up for fun!

Turn that water back on, cause you’re ready. You decide to not use the tripod just yet. It’s nice to be able to move around without any obstacles at first. Get the hang of it first…figure out the technicalities later.  That water is hitting the apple just beautifully. Let’s capture it.

Wonderful! Isn’t it beautiful? You got that tiny moment in time and saved it forever. And you know what the really interesting thing is? Each drop will be different. It’s never the same ole same ole.  Now you can just go to town, play with the flash on, play with it off. Try different shutter speeds to create different effects. Change your exposure to give it a bright effect or a more “sinister” one.  You can even give it a try in Aperture priority mode.

 You’ll create many pieces of work that are all unique and beautiful. It takes a lot of patience, and tons of practice. But once you get the hang of it…it’s rather addicting. Just be sure to keep your camera dry and you’ll be fine.  Next time you’re at the grocery store in the produce section I can promise you’ll see fruit in a different light.

Now you’ll be trying all sorts of foods and items to make splashes on. 

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