absolutely surreal - i love the color and the simplicity of it - details please!

How exactly do you define a "straight" shot? That's a really vague idea, at least from my perspective. Today's photo, although somewhat mysterious, could be considered straight (if I'm reading it correctly). Just because a photo involves reflections or refractions, does that make it non-straight (i'm not sure what the opposite of straight is, in this case). All that to say, perhaps part of the difficulty that you're having is due to a distinction that is hard to make. I don't know...I'm just rambling. Thanks for another quality pic.

Are they glass beads on a mirror? I think I have some beads like that... Now my big problem with such a shot would be avoiding unwanted reflections! Looks like a pretty empty room refracted through the beads (if that's what they are)

great shot! Love the composition!

wow. a very weird (in a cool way) shot. My guess is that they're those stone rock/bead things that I have at the bottom of my bamboo plant, and that many people have at the bottom of theirs. Along with their fish tanks and bowls too, I bet. Am I close?

There is a mirror, but there are no glass beads ;-)

David,

Water droplets shot on an angle? Could it be?!?!

justin: sorry, 'straight shot' probably wasn't the best way of putting it. What I meant was that I'd be concentrating on representational photography (rather than interpretative or abstract).

First of all: Congratulations on photobloggies. Like I've said before: It's very much deserved, because you have such consistency in delivering amazing shots... So: good for you and keep up those wonderful shots. They're a joy for all of us to see and inspiring for the rest of the community!

I really like today's shot, even though I have to admitt that I have no idea how you did it... The idea is very nice and it's beautifully excecuted, beautiful blue tones...

|Shrued: yes, water drops. The only thing that might not be obvious is that I coated the mirror with Rain-X first; hence the very regular shaped droplets.

Very simple, yet the colour is pleasing. Nicely done.

This type of shot looks oddly familier. This kind of photography is definitally intresting, especally the technique. I remember some similiar work from round-here.net. I think I prefer people photography though, and more real life situations to studio photography. But this is a nice example, especally in the negitive space.

Fellow Eskimo: thanks for the reminder, I was trying to remember where I'd first read about Rain-X.

Wow! This is what I'm talking about! chromasia is back! I'm amazed by todays' photo. I can't think of how this photo is composed. The droplets seemed to be surreal and round! I love the background colour as well. Way to go!

Great shot. The background is perfect.

I know what you mean about the cemetary. Whenever I travel I always stop by a cemetary to take pictures, but they are almost always disppointing.

Now that is amazing, Dave. I'm not usually a huge fan of the abstract shots, but this is something else. Beautiful lighting, tones, and subject.

Completely unrelated nitpick: you have a stray apostrophe in "graveyards" in your photo description. It really doesn't matter one bit, but hey! I guess I'm a just a grammar Nazi. ;)

excellent
very well done
I've been watching round here for quite a while now, he is the master of this technique

dave...

how the hell do you decide which pic is good ebough for you to post?
im havin trouble deciding that...

Great shot. I love the color and the shapes of the droplets.

Love the tint, serene and perfectly formed.

that rain-x stuff sure rocks!
I've acctually been seeing these kind of shots more frequently, have to try it myself someday...

I really think the use of the mirror here is a neat touch. About the change in photography styles: if it isn't satisfying, especially the struggle part, then is it something you really want to do? I imagine as a big fish in the photoblogging world there are all kinds of pressures, internal and external, on your particular brand of photography. Don't forget to do what you want, without apology.

Not really a lecture. I'm a school teacher and so sometimes those speeches just pour out of me without warning. :-)

<Tentatively raising hand> I am proud to say that I believe I was the first to encourage RainKing to use Rain-X in this thread.

I tried it later on my own website and wasn't nearly as successful as you or he have been, although I was pleased. See this shot and this one.

Okay. shameless plug over. Sorry. ;-)

Well done, as always.

dave,

Really cool effect and it's good to know you thought this one out by using the Rain-X. =)

you now what dave, i almost find this image a bit clinical and without energy/passion, if you know what i mean. it is technically perfect, the composition is also very good, but it lacks that je-ne-sais-quoi...

p.

I believe the word for it is "calm" or "peaceful". These types of photographs can a lot of times have more of an effect on mood of the viewer, mainly because they contain more mood. They almost have to in order to compensate for the lack of an interesting subject. Not to say that the subject is boring...it just doesn't have quite as much too it. But the mood more than makes up.

Of course, quite a bit of that is all subjective, but for me, it's all about the mood. :)

Great aperature value. I like the clarity and reflection of this shot. As mentioned above, great background as well! Great capture!

I've also used rain-x for my waterdrops...

I think these could have looked more like drops and not some sorta plastic bead if you would have set up your lighting alittle different. The drops dont seem to have that "waterdrop" look..ya know?

What did you use for a background?

Dave,

This is more like it. Definitely a "round-here" post but that's not a negative, I love these sort of shots.

Recently the shots of your children have left me pretty indifferent, it's like looking at someones photo album and I find that highly personlaised and therefore it doesn't appeal to me.

I tend to agree with someone regarding the "nintendo" shots also. They pointed out that the focus was more on the (irrelevant) gadget than your daughter.

So with that all said I love the modern crisp clean look of this shot. Ikea advertising is calling....

Thanks everyone :-)

quasi: thanks, I've removed the apostrophe.

notsure: don't know how I decide which pic to post. Well, I do, I look through them and decide which I think will look best, but I don't know how I arrive at that decision.

laanba: sometimes it's easy – I take lots of shots and there are quite a few that I think would be good for chromasia – but at other times it's more difficult. Lately, for whatever reasons, I've found it harder, but I guess it will swing the other way again at some point.

picturegrl: Cool. You obviously started a trend :-) (by the way, I fixed the links in your comment).

nordilux: I guess that was my intention with this one; i.e. serene rather than energetic, but I know what you mean. I'm putting another one up tomorrow that has a slightly different feel so I'll be interested to hear how you think they compare.

mark: I didn't want the drops to look 'just' like drops, so I'm happy with the way they look, and the background is a mirror.

tobias: thanks. I know what you mean about 'personalised' shots, it difficult to create them so they still have universal appeal. Or maybe it's not, maybe it's just more difficult for me to see that they're overly personal in focus. As for the '(irrelevant) gadget': you try telling an 11 year old that her brand new, limited edition GameBoy Advance is merely an irrelevant gadget ;-)

well I also tought those were the stones that goes on the bamboos as Lisa said. I was trying to get a picture with those thing the other day and I jus got crap. So i was surpreise when I saw this picture but then I read it was water. Ether if it is a landscape a portrait or an abstract picture, you always impress many of us. Thanks for the links you sent me :) I am already working on that :)

It looks very good. It makes me proud to be an inspiration. :D

Thanks for the plug.

Very nice shot Dave

Fantastic---right up there in your best half dozen, in my view.

Very nice. Quite "technical", I would say - that is, looks like a publicity picture. Which may be interpreted as a compliment :)
As for graveyard: if you want a truly unique experience, here's what you have to do: buy a plane ticket to Warsaw, Poland. Go to the Jewish Cemetary. Spend the entire day there, then another one. It is simply unbelievable that places like that exist.

http://new-art.blogspot.com

I like this shot, and with Dr Who coming back on UK TV I wonder what the inspiration was ;-)

Re graveyards - I rather like them but the light has to be just right! close ups of algae etc in glancing light seem so full of texture. . .

Great shot (as usual)!

Love waking up to your new photo every day. It has been a real pleasure to find this website. Thanks for sharing your view on the world.

Great show as always, my original guess would have been some sort of marbles... I'm going to join the list of people that want to know the background, we know there's a mirror underneath the drops but what is giving the blue/purple colour?

Wow, great shot! I like the arrangement of the real water drops and their reflections. Interesting. I like the colour too!