In our previous article, we talk about how to create beautiful color sculptures using the sound. Today we are talking about a different high speed photography idea using the same setup and we are going to create something totally different. This time, I will teach you how to shoot stunning dancing colors.
This high speed photography technique is easy compared to high speed paint photography because we will be using dry colors so it’ll create a lesser amount of mess but results will be as magnificent as color sculptures. And of course, you’ll need MIOPS Smart Camera Trigger, a sound trigger for camera to control your camera.
Okay, let’s get started.
What you need:
First, we need a setup and we already talk about it in our previous article, How to Create Beautiful Color Sculptures Using the Sound. We used a speaker and put a rubber sheet on it. When we play sound, rubber sheet vibrates and these vibrations throw the colors in the air and create different shapes and patterns.
So, your setup is ready, you also have your background, camera, lens, tripod, flashes and MIOPS sound activated camera trigger ready.
Let’s talk about colors. Previously we used acrylic colors that are easily available in craft shop everywhere but for this shoot, we used “Rangoli colors” which are easily available in India but not everywhere. So let’s find out some alternatives for this.
You may use “Festival Colors” for this which is available on Amazon or you can use “Art Sand” which is available at art and crafts shops and also on Amazon and comes in different shades. Another option is “Sand Gravel” that is used in the aquarium, it also comes in different colors. You can buy it from local aquarium supply shops.
And we have a DIY option too, get some sand and color it with different shades of colors. There are many tutorials available on YouTube for this.
Whatever you use just make sure you choose bright shades. Also, arrange some small plastic spoons to put colors on the speaker.
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Setup and camera settings:
Your setup and camera settings will be almost same as paint sculpture shoot. We’ll play low-frequency beats on the music system that is connected to our speaker that has a rubber sheet on it. Our camera will be on a tripod and we are going to use two flashes with low power at forty-five degree angle on both sides. One flash will be our main light and other will be for fill light that will have half power than our main flash.
Why we need low power? It’s because we always get the shortest flash duration at low power. At high power (full or half), flash duration will be longer and you may get motion blur in the photo.
Our camera settings will be like this. We’ll use f/11 – f/16 aperture for deeper depth of field and our shutter speed will be 1/250 or less and our ISO will be 100 or lowest possible according to the light.
We’ll use MIOPS Smart trigger in the sound mode to control your camera. Sensitivity would be around 30-40 percent and delay would be 50-100 milliseconds. Again these settings are not typical and you need to change it according to your requirements.
Work Flow:
When your setup is ready, you need to put different colors on the rubber sheet and play sound. Do some experiments with different frequencies of the sound, different volume level, different delay settings of MIOPS high-speed camera trigger. Every change you make will give you different results.
You need to remember that colors which you put in the center of the speaker will jump higher and colors that are on a side will jump low. You can create different shapes by placing colors in different layers.
So, start creating these stunning dancing color images and share with us.
About the Author
Ramakant Sharda is an author, iOS App publisher, passionate photographer and a MIOPS Ambassador based in the beautiful “Pink City” of India, known as Jaipur. His work has been published in various magazines, newspapers, and blogs. He has published three Coffee Table Books, he writes about photography and also teaches photography in his workshops. Check out his website http://ClickManic.com to see the masterpieces created by him or download his free app for iPhone and iPad “30 Days to an Ace Photographer“.
