Well, I've been working on figuring out refraction shots ever since I stumbled on one in Mount Rainier NP during a rainstorm... I thought you guys might enjoy them.

Basically, all I do is use a tripod-mounted Canon 30D w/ 100mm Macro and various amount of extension tubes... usually 32mm + 20mm stacked, I believe. Then you find a good dew or raindrop. Raindrops are bigger which means easier... but dewdrops have much better shapes/patterns.

Here are the three good ones (in my opinion) I've done so far in order from oldest to most recent...

"Raindrop Refraction", Mount Rainier National Park:
The problems with this one were a) noise - I had to shoot at ISO 800 (nearing sunset) and still had an exposure time of around 1/2 second... which is way too slow when trying to create a sharp image b) it was also raining at the time, so that just made it more of a pain.



"Refracted Sunflower", Blue Ridge Parkway:
This one is technically much better, shot at ISO 100 and better focus (I think), but its big problem is the composition sucks, to be blunt.



"Impatien Refraction":
To date, I think this is my best combination of color/composition/sharpness. These are dewdrops as well, note the much better shape than the above. The only issue here was exposure time, since I had so many tubes stacked (all three, I think) and there were two drops requiring a larger DOF, I had an exposure of something like 2.5 seconds @ f/20... which would have never worked had the drops not been very small, near the ground, and buried in other shrubs to help block the wind.



Hope you guys enjoy them, they're very fun to do but a complete pain in the ass at times.

- Scott

I think the concept is cool and something that most people would think is very difficult to accomplish.

I wonder if you could achieve these results in a studio with the ability to refract other object besides flowers.

Originally Posted by jblaze5779

I wonder if you could achieve these results in a studio with the ability to refract other object besides flowers.

Absolutely. I just don't have any interest in non-natural subjects. But its an idea that could be applied to all kinds of things. I have several other refraction ideas with things other than flowers, just haven't the right situation yet.

- Scott

These are great. I completely know what you mean about the technical difficulties of doing this. Especially at that kind of magnification. I've shot a couple things like this but I don't really have the magnification reach necessary to do it justice, but now I know what I'd need more or less!

I love this point of view.

So with over 50mm of tubes stacked, how close are you actually to the droplets? How many tries does it take you to get any of the shots above? For instance, how many times do you setup, hold your breath, and fire the shutter only to realize that the droplet you have focused on has fallen?

Those look very cool.

Not that its "natural" but could you reproduce this in an easier setting with a spray bottle?

Damn, those are awesome, and a very creative idea.
Great shots!

Originally Posted by tardypizza

I love this point of view.

So with over 50mm of tubes stacked, how close are you actually to the droplets? How many tries does it take you to get any of the shots above? For instance, how many times do you setup, hold your breath, and fire the shutter only to realize that the droplet you have focused on has fallen?

I was probably 3-4 inches away with the flower about 1/2" behind the droplets... the flower should really give you some scale, it was no more than 3/4" across. It doesn't take too many tries once you know what you're doing, but getting the plane of focus, tripod, and everything all setup is certainly a pain.

Originally Posted by tardypizza

For instance, how many times do you setup, hold your breath, and fire the shutter only to realize that the droplet you have focused on has fallen?

Actually, not a single time has the droplet fallen unless I knocked, which definitely happens... a good deal, actually.

And yes, I'm sure this could be reproduced, but I don't think any regular spray bottle would do the trick... it just doesn't produce as perfect droplets as the dew does.

- Scott