The following equipment was used:

  • Full frame DSLR with an 105mm macro lens
  • Flash with remote control unit
  • Remote shutter release
  • Tripod
  • Optional, but helpful: electronic light barrier shutter release

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A light barrier shutter remote is very useful.

This is the list of  ingredients of this project:

  • A fish tank
  • Some fruits
  • Black carton (background)
  • Glass cleansing agent
  • Screw clambs and wooden bars
  • White carton or styrofoam plates (reflectors)

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The setup is as follows.

  1. The fish tank is cleaned to remove any kind of dirt or dust from the glass.
  2. The fish tank is placed in front of the black background.
  3. The wooden bars are fixed on top of the tank in order to mark the position in the horizontal middle of the tank.
  4. The position of the light barrier is chosen such a way that it detects the falling fruits.
  5. The flash is used in combination with the reflectors to generate a sidelight.
  6. The fish tank is filled up to the middle with with water.

The following picture summarizes the setup.

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The shooting is a trial and error procedure. A fruit is dropped into the fish tank using the bar as an orientation guide. This step is repeated until some of the shoots are good enough for postprocessing. In order to remove drops on the glass the fish tank should be cleaned after each shoot.

A large amount of postprocessing is necessary to improve the image. The following image is straight from the camera.

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The following postprocessing steps were applied:

  • Sharpening with an high pass filter.
  • Adjustment layers (levels, brightness, contrast).
  • Usage of the eraser tool on a black filled layer to select the visible parts of the splashy.
  • Usage of the clone stamp to remove dirt on the fruit.