For months, I have been mulling around an idea of doing a Pacific NW series of photos.  Finally, I am now starting this project.  In a nutshell, it is using photos from around the NW as a background, then matching the type of drop to what is in the photo.  As these are taken with a macro lens, the depth of field is shallow so the background will still be soft, not sharp at all, but still recognizable.  For example, Mt. Hood is a landmark that is easily recognized.

The past few months in my drop photography have been trial and error, as I've been disassembling my setup and moving things around, upgrading equipment (including a new lens), organizing, etc.  I did three water drop sessions in a row, where I didn't get a single print worthy photo! As I told myself at the time, "if this was so easy, everybody would be doing it!"

What is a "session?"  It is usually 3-5 hours long, sitting in a darkened room, getting one drop per photo (burst mode will not work for this type of photography) taking 200-300 photos.  It feels strange to sit in a dark room when it's a beautiful bright and sunny day out!   I get out my folding chair, my water jugs, measuring cups with a pouring spout, ice, put music on, and then really think about what photos I want to get, even meditate for a few minutes.  I find this helps tremendously, quieting my mind and organizing my thoughts.

The biggest surprise so far, in doing this series, is my rose photo.  For all of the other photos so far, I had an idea in mind of what shape of drop I wanted to get, and the water was ever so cooperative (yes!!!).  For this photo, I put one of my rose photographs in the background, but was stumped on what shape of drop to aim for.  However, the water knew!  On my third photo, I got a flower shaped drop!  I was astounded.  Amazing!!  It knew what I needed before I even knew!  I love it when things fall into place like this.  I think we could all use more of that in our lives!