Tabletop photography
Robin Fellows-Weir
Robin has recently finished a photography college course. He shoots weddings in his spare time and enjoys creating a wide range of abstract and landscape photos. Visit @robinfwphotography and www.rfwphotovideo.co.uk
It’s time to refract
As an outdoor abstract and landscape photographer in lockdown, I used my experience of light, composition, colour as well as a love of minimalism at a smaller scale with oil drop refraction photography. It’s a genre with an infinite variety of striking and unique images to be produced, with its own specific challenges to overcome. Best of all, it›can be done with simple household items and inexpensive camera equipment you may well already have.
KIT LIST
Extension tubes
Instead of a dedicated macro lens, I bought a vintage mount adapter and then used a set of extension tubes with a vintage 50mm lens I already had. Extension tubes are a very inexpensive way to let a lens focus very close to a subject, and are available for most camera mounts as well as vintage models.
Tripod
To face the camera directly down onto the oil, use a multi-angle tripod or invert the central column.
Flashgun and trigger
A flashgun and trigger is required to fire the flash›off-camera. To reduce the flash brightness I also taped a sheet of paper to the flash to act as a diffuser.
Props
You’ll need water and oil, any cooking oil will do. In addition to this, a glass bowl to put the water and oil in, an additional glass dish to place this in and a pipette. Lastly have some CDs or books to hand for stacking (see far right).
ROBIN’S TOP TIPS
Experiment with flash
With the flash set up to fire remotely, hold it to the side of
