Adventures in photography

It took me a while to figure out how to approach this week’s assignment for my Scientific Imaging class. The task: take a photograph of liquid in glass. Sounds simple enough, but avoiding glare and reflection can be a challenge, and then what do you do when the background shines through the liquid?

The sample images feature a lot of beakers, test tubes, and other scientific equipment, but I wanted to take a photo more relevant to my interests while still suggesting some scientific purpose. Finally it came to me: I would fill a Mason jar with silty creek water, set it on a rock in or near my creek, and create an image that would show how much stuff is floating around in water that appears to be clear and sparkling.

So I found a jar, bundled up against the cold, and headed down to the creek, where I had no problem locating water full of floaties—but where would I set the jar? I found a flat space on a log next to the creek, but the log was studded with bright white plate-size fungi that made annoying reflective patterns on the glass.

How about a rock? We have plenty of rocks both in and out of the creek, but few flat spaces where the jar wouldn’t wobble. The perfect rock was about four feet into the creek in water about eight inches deep, which isn’t much if you’re wearing waterproof boots, but I don’t have any waterproof boots so I was out stomping around in the creek in a pair of raggedy old sneakers.

Have I mentioned that it’s cold outside? The air temperature was in the mid-30s and the water felt like knives shooting through my ankles, but to an intrepid student, cold is no obstacle. So I waded out into the creek, positioned the jar perfectly, set the exposure, and knelt down to start shooting pictures.

Nothing happened.

I’ve had this camera for about a month and I’m still learning the meanings of various blinking lights and symbols, so it took me a while to figure out the problem: low battery. Too low to run the shutter.

Note to self: buy a back-up battery.

So I went up to the house to charge up the battery, change into dry clothes, and warm up with some hot tea, only to repeat the entire adventure again a few hours later. (And when wading in cold water on a freezing-cold Sunday afternoon qualifies as an adventure, what does that tell you about my life?)

The result? A whole bunch of photos of a jar full of creek water. I need to pick the best one and run it through Photoshop, but when it’s done I think I’ll call the finished product “Dull as Ditchwater.” Story of my life.