Paul Butler has become a regular at our practical workshop evenings. He has been one of the clubs ‘go to’ people for holding his own practical skills area, where our membership can expect something new and exciting to try.
Always willing to share techniques and give the guidance on achieving an image. We all love Pauls basic inexpensive set ups we can all try at home.
We asked Paul about his ideas and how he comes up with set ups for the workshops.
Paul said "I pick up ideas from all sorts of places, members entries to images shown on our gold and silver evenings, club competitions entries, our guest speakers and also things that just creep into that largely vacant space between my ears.
Sometimes I just have a go and other times I do a bit of researching on you tube, there really is nothing much which is absolutely new but being a cheapskate I often have to try to find a way of doing things with bits and pieces which I already have or can bodge together easily.
My first attempts at water drop photography used a milk carton with a pinhole in it hung from a chair on a table. There was no electronic synchronisation, just lots and lots of pressing the shutter release when the time looked right. This results in hundreds of useless pictures for every one which might be deemed OK. Nothing as sophisticated as those achieved with electronically timed drops and shutters, I suppose it depends on whether a few hours of fun and frustration of an instant competition winner are the goal.
Once you think you have mastered the basic timing you can introduce coloured backgrounds, food dyes, milk into coffee and any other ideas which then start to come. I wonder what would happen if...
Images of my Water Drop Photography, hope you like them too! "
