This is water soluble suminagashi ink in water. I use this ink because of the very reason these images sometimes get constructive criticism about focus. That is that the ink is dissolving rapidly into the water and therefore has a soft, ephemeral and surreal look. The inks are dropped in at different rates and through an oil barrier which provides some control. Then I flip the final image to be 'mushrooms' or 'trees'.

The hot lights here are LEDs on two sides to get the depth and a CFL on the right to produce the light that will create the shadow direction.