Ferofluid. Always messy, and most of the time worth the effort.
[Jul. 2nd, 2015 07:58:39 PM]
Seems like people are starting to recognize this stuff!
A few have asked about more details, so here goes: ferofluid is a thick and oily magnetic liquid. Sitting alone it doesn't do much, but will react to a magnetic field such as a magnet. So in this case the ferofluid is sitting on a piece of glass and I have a strong circular magnet underneath the glass. The shape that the fluid takes will vary with the strength of the magnet as well as its distance away from the fluid. The larger spikes such as these will appear when the magnet is slightly farther away.
As with any macro shot, the lighting is the key to a successful photo and it is by no means easy. Because it is black metal, a large light source is required and it must be as close as possible to the subject. In this case I build a "box" around the fluid as close as possible and shot 3 flashes into it. A polarizer can of course be used for some interesting effect.
If anyone wants to try this stuff, it's pretty easily bought off the net, or even local stores. BUT, beware, it stains everything, and I promise that there is at least one disaster per photo shoot.
[Jul. 2nd, 2015 08:00:04 PM]
Ah, forgot to mention: this is a 10-photo focus stack, hence the sharpness throughout. Shot at f13 with the camera mounted on a tripod, I varied the focus for the 10 photos and then combined them later with zerene stacker (focus stacking software).
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Place: 1 out of 173 Avg (all users): 6.7935 Avg (commenters): 7.4444 Avg (participants): 6.8806 Avg (non-participants): 6.5600 Views since voting: 2290 Views during voting: 217 Votes: 92 Comments: 39 Favorites: 6 (view)
Excellent...I wondered if this was yours...I did get some Ferofluid have played a little bit not much. Good to know that you stack. That explains a lot for me...excellent as always.
It seems to me I've seen this before, and it seems that it was excited about something last time. I think it's still excited :) Beautiful image, I would expect this to land on the front page.....10 from me.
I know this is ferrofluid - I've been experimenting myself with this liquid and found it extremly hard to handle.
You did a very good job putting this into scene! And it looks so tidy... mine was always a mess at the edges...when voting is over I'd appreciate some hints how you've accomplished this setup.
Sharpness and colours are great - 10 from me.
Porcupine
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