I had my 1st attempt to photograph a milk drop splash way back in 1974. My camera at the time was a Nikkormat DSLR and I captured the images on a roll of Ilfospeed ISO-400 film. I only had the one speedlight and all the milk drops were created with an eye dropper. The setup created a very high failure rate. I would get 24 photos to a roll of film. I would then develop the film and check the negatives for any actual splashes – which were very few and far between. It was then basically “rinse and repeat” and just hope to get some sort of splash. If nothing else, I learnt how to efficiently develop the many rolls of negatives. One day I did manage to get a splash so I was able to take things to the next level and actually create a B&W print. That print has long since disappeared but the attached image is a recreation to demonstrate the type of capture that I tried so hard to get.

Anyway, life got in the way of my endeavor to get the perfect splash and I happily sold all my photographic gear a few years later so I could use the funds to purchase an engagement ring. Fast forward to 2016 and I found myself retired and looking for a hobby. I decided to have another attempt at waterdrop photography and I was pleasantly surprised at the various electronic controllers specific for this genre of macro photography, not to mention all the other bits and pieces. This hobby was going to ideally suit my passion for tinkering with bits and pieces in the shed, I just didn’t realise how much of a money pit it could also be.

I had to learn lots of new things, like how to use Facebook so that I could join some waterdrop groups. Like many others, I purchased Corrie White’s guide on waterdrop photography, and after watching lots of YouTube videos I started organising my equipment. I started by purchasing a DIY kit from HiViz. By the time I had finished constructing what I came to think of as the “analog” controller I had decided to purchase an electronic controller. I bought a 6-station controller and a flash controller from MJKZZ and I used that happily for some time. It was about this time that I purchased a book by Daniel Nimmervoll. This book is an excellent resource, and when reading it I read about yet another controller, the GlimpseCatcher, so of course I had to have that one. I thought at the time I had discovered my ultimate controller (but more on that subject later)

During this time, I seemed to be doing a lot of purchasing with not very much output. I had started to follow the work of a number of photographers and had a great interest in trying to analyse their photos and imagine how they had created some of these photos. In particular I was in awe of the works of Markus Reugels and Helene Caillaud. I discovered that Markus was selling a fountain kit that, in my mind, I imagined was going to let me recreate collisions and fountains similar to him. When I received his kit, I realised that I wanted to learn how to design and print my own fountains. And so began a whole new hobby as I learnt with the assistance of YouTube, how to create 3D designs and use a 3D printer. The money pit seemed to be getting deeper, so it was about this time I began taking a lot more photos, but I think it is fair to say I get as much enjoyment from the whole design and construction process as I do with the photography.

I have designed and printed a rather intricate nozzle system which allows me to align a large number of nozzles. This led to my latest purchase of yet another controller. It is the dropController V4 16 station model. I have used a number of controllers, but this one is definitely my preferred controller. My camera is a Nikon D850 and I use 4-5 Godox speedlights.

I take a lot of effort in designing, preparing and taking the photograph so I use Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to clean the backgrounds and to get a nice tonal range to be able to present the photo in its best form.

This web site is my first attempt at creating a web page and it came about because I wanted a way to make a fountain design available for anyone who wanted it. So apologies in advance for any errors and omissions (it is still a work in progress). I also wanted to consolidate much of the information I have gathered from various locations in the hope that it might be a handy resource for some people as they try to master this genre of photography.