Our Twitter competition winner this week was a fabulous moment of precise timing. Jason Dale explains how he achieved it
Image by Jason Dale
We’ve had drone landscapes and wildlife moments winning our #WexMondays Twitter competition already, but on the third week it was the turn of something completely different. This pin-sharp, split-second moment of a falling water droplet was captured by Jason Dale, also known as @onelittleduck, and is a perfect example of the kind of variety and skill we see in this competition.
What a fantastic start to the competition we’ve had already! If, like us, you’re keen to know a little more about how this image was captured then you’re in luck – we managed to grab Jason to get the lowdown...
Wex Photo Video: Congratulations on a fantastic winning shot! Can you tell us when and where you captured it?
Jason Dale: Thank you. The shot was taken at home with a small studio setup.
WPV: What were the main challenges of grabbing this shot?
JD: Water droplet photography can be quite a challenge. I've been experimenting on/off with it, and just when you think you've got it right, things stop working without any logical explanation. When it does work, the results can be quite cool though.
I use a droplet kit which does make life a little bit easier to get the collisions. The key to this shot is getting the droplet sharp, getting a good collision and placing the flashes in the right place so as to create a half-and-half lighting effect. Sharpness and lighting you can control, but the nature of this particular collision was simply down to luck.
WPV: What kit were you using when you snapped it?
JD: I was using a Sony A7III with Sony E-mount macro lens for this shot. The drops were created with a MIOPS splash unit, and the lighting with two Godox flash units with coloured gels. The splash unit is triggered by mobile, and in turn the unit also triggers the flashes. It beats doing it with a syringe, as I've done in the past.
WPV: What post-processing (if any) did you do on the image?
JD: Post processing was done to tidy up a few spots and unsightly small bubbles in the water. With water droplet images you want to make sure they look clean - so no dust or bubbles in the water. The colours from the flashes were enhanced to give a richer look.
WPV: How long have you been taking photographs? What do you enjoy most about it?
JD: A few years now. I prefer wildlife photography, but it's not always easy to get out and about on location. I'm finding that by experimenting with things like droplets, I can continue to learn. And that's the great thing about photography: there's always new stuff to learn, and people to be inspired by.
WPV: Do you have your next #WexMondays image planned?
JD: I don't (sorry!). I didn't plan to enter this one and only decided to put it in at the last hour or so. There's always so many amazing images entered every week that I wasn't sure whether it would even be noticed. I'll have to make more of an effort now!
Jason has lots more images on his website, jasondale.co.uk.
Think you’ve got what it takes to be our next #WexMondays winner? Head here for everything you need to know about the competition.
