close up of water falling into the cracks of a vinyl record
who would have guessed that a wet record could be so beautiful? while taking macro photos of laserdisc and record surfaces, i stumbled upon a very neat phenomenon. i was adding drops of water on the laser disc and watching how the rainbow reflection distorted by the lensing effects of the water droplets. i didn't see anything worth taking a photo of doing so. i assumed it would be even less interesting to put water on the record, but i soon learned how wrong i was. the water seeped into the grooves in such a beautiful way. i've never seen anything like it. it's too bad all i can offer are these stills. i should have taken some video footage, for the process was mesmerizing. at this level of magnification (which i have yet to calculate), the smallest movements become very prominent and quick. for instance, in regards to the photo above this text, the process of the solid-flat-slighly-bubbly liquid completely transforming into the seemingly electric strands would only take around five seconds.
to get enough brightness, i positioned myself so that the sun was reflecting off the water directly into the lens. i had to squint the whole time. talk about bright, but the negative film handled it so well. below are some more photos from the session. none of the photos have been digitally processed or enhanced.
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2011