Corrie White: The art of the SPLASH

Corrie White’s fascination with creating liquid drop images has become an addiction. She started experimenting in 2009 by using a simple camera and a medicine dropper set-up. Since then, she has moved on to more complicated electronic drip kits and her images have become not only more intricate, but seemingly less like simple liquid photography and more like abstract organic artworks.

“I was always interested in macro photography, so this fit in quite well as far as a new direction for me,” White says. “For the first year, I did some experiments manually with a medicine dropper, and within two weeks I was able to get a two drop collision, with the second drop landing on the jet of the first and creating a mushroom or umbrella form. I used my camera pop-up flash, so my first drops were quite basic. There were not many tutorials available then, so I had to figure out the procedures for myself.”

One of the intriguing aspects of liquid drop photography is the unique shapes and textures inherent in the form each drop takes, especially as new liquids and additives are tested and experimented with. “I love to take things to the limit and then to go beyond that to see what is possible,” White says. “It is a challenge to come up with different shapes that haven’t been done before. I enjoy moving the flashes around to get the best result possible with the lighting. There are so many combinations of light and colours for backgrounds that it’s easy to always have different results in the outcomes of the final images.”

White first discovered the art of liquid drop photography on the Internet, a medium that she, in turn, has used to promote her own work worldwide. This includes her e-book The Ultimate Guide to Water Drop Photography.

“Sharing my work on photo sharing websites over the past few years has given me a tremendous amount of exposure,” White says. “I see a lot of people trying things out that they saw from my work. First comes imitation, then comes innovation. From there, artists find their own special methods and style. We all have to start somewhere, including copying other artists’ styles for inspiration, until we find our own.”

White, who identifies her 100mm macro as her favourite lens, is considered a master of liquid drop photography. She credits the “Three Ps” — patience, perseverance, and persistence — for her success.

“You need to start at the beginning and watch what happens when drops fall, so you can recognize t