Image Distortion

Water can act as a big lens by bending light in different ways. This can result in a distortion of the subject. This can be an excellent method of surreal photography as well because the subject becomes so distorted that it is almost unrecognizable. By using water in this way I will be able to show how water can be a both beautiful and eerie subject to photograph.

With my own attempt at water distortion photography I chose to go down the rout of using a striped background and a glass of water as the main subject of the image. I started by setting up my background in a well lit area, using a nearby window as the primary light source giving the image a nice natural light, illuminating the image from behind. I then proceeded to setup the camera and take a few shots of the glass/vase in order to get the correct exposure and aperture. Once the water was added and the camera was setup correctly, then I began taking photos.

I feel that my final photographic result was a successful representation of the distortion of water, as the lines within the image were distorted by the water and shifted into different shapes by bending light in different directions. I did however experience a few difficulties when taking the photos that lead to them not looking as good as they could have done, with examples being, reflections in the glass/vase of other light sources and objects surrounding the shot, and the miss matched striped backgrounds of different stripe thickness and also different texture. These smaller things that are not the main focus point of the image can also effect the image in a way that makes it look a little unprofessional. These types of mistakes are what I need to look out for when taking photos in future shoots.

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