Pretty.

Taigen, I am so glad to hear (and see) this!! I know exactly how you feel......they really are so much fun to do. The iridescent background added something new and exciting, and makes me wonder what other variations on the background we could try.

I especially like your first one. You'll find the process a lot easier when you get your macro lens. I was told to use a tripod, and I'm sure that facilitates things, too, but my tripods are old and can't accommodate a camera facing straight down. That's okay.........I enjoy a challenge, at least the kind that involves cameras. :-)

Well, now you've got me wanting to try some more. And since the sun came out as I typed that last sentence, I just might do that. Thanks so much for sharing these!

Susan

Those are really pretty! I think the 1st one is my favorite. I'm wanting to try doing a couple of these. Are they always done outside? What kind of oil do ya'll use. What kind of container?

I can answer some of that. Most of the ones I've seen were done indoors, by a sunny window. But I was afraid I'd spill oil and water (I was right!), and did mine outside. I used olive oil, and added a few drops of dark sesame oil. I saw some excellent ones done with used deep frying oil.

That photographer used a glass bread pan. I used a glass pie plate. The important thing is to raise the container so it's far enough from the background that the background blurs. (It helps to use a wide aperture for shallow depth of field.)

Casey posted a very cool one some time ago. Maybe she'll weigh in here.

Taigen can tell us her details...... :-)

Uh-Oh...that "aperture" word always confuses me, 'cause I don't know what the heck it is or how to set it! lol

This are so pretty.
Could someone post the instruction link again? I thought I had it, but apparently not.

I keep opening this thread because it has my name on it. LOL

I'll post the link below.

The aperture is the F stop, or how far the lens opens when the picture is taken. If your camera doesn't let you set it, just focus on the oil/water surface and hope the background ends up blurred. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Oil on Water Instructions

Sorry was busy all day and just getting back to this thread. Here are some photos of how I did mine. I also used manual settings & focus on my camera

Get a variety of papers etc....anything colourful. I used olive oil in mine. Tried canola and it didn't work well. I used two glasses and a glass casserole dish. My dish was old and in some photos you can see the marks on it. I did mine outside because it was just easier in case of a mess and so nice and bright.

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Hope this helps.

Wow -thanks so much for the link and the very helpful pictures!

I agree...thanks for the link ANd those pictures!! I do better with visuals..that way the instructions make more sense to me! lol

Oh boy this looks fun. Love your photos, the link to the instructions and the photos to help with the set up. Thanks taigen and alisande! I really appreciate this. I'll have to see if I can find photos I took using a CD that are fun to take and see too. I'll start a new thread if I find it and my daughter allows me break time to play on the computer. She's home on leave and helping me purge, so I can't complain really.