3
Votes
Ruth Carll's picture

Sea Spirit

I have been working with fluids for a while now and am always trying to improve my technique. Most fluid photographers prefer heavy fluids but I like the ephemeral, water-based inks. They have an ethereal quality that appeals to me even though the outcome can sometimes be soft. To me this one looks like a ghost traveling on her way through the dark sea!

These are done in my 'studio' aka my kitchen. I have a fish tank set up with a series of lights. The inks are water based and therefore I mix them with some cream to make them opaque and have some staying power. The set up of prepping the thickened water, inks and lighting take far longer than the shots!

PENTAX K-3
15mm · f/10 · 1/250 · ISO 400
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2 Comments

Wow, Ruth - this one really explodes! I particularly like this one, which reminded me of your flower photos first, actually - you're good with flowers, and somehow your photographic green thumb has worked its magic here too!

I keep picturing an exhibition of these inky works of yours, all framed and hung. I'd love to see it.

Thanks Chris! I've come up with a tweak in my technique that slows down the ink which lets me slow down the shutter speed. I have a bunch of these to work through and I'm really excited.