Optical Illusion of The Day: Creating the World from Water

Posted: 02 May 2012 12:33 PM PDT

You probably already know that about 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, but did you know you can make an entirely new one from just one drop? Ok, to be fair, it’s only an upside down reflection of the world as portrayed on a map, but, still, I doubt any of us has the talent or patience to recreate these brilliant photos by a photographer Markus Reugels.

Even with all his experience shooting water drops, Reugels still takes hours to complete each shoot because no mater how much practice and talent you have under your belt, capturing a water drop at the perfect moment still relies on luck more than anything else.

Fortunately, with a lot of time on his hand, a little luck and a world map, a simple photograph of a water droplet can easily become something more – easily taking on a deeper meaning, even preaching the importance of clean water to the health of our planet.

In Reugels workshop, even the moon, an object that we see on a regular basis, can suddenly become crystal-clear and even more stunning than it is while hovering above the night sky.

Of course, Reugels didn’t start off shooting water drops. He was originally a family portrait photographer, but three years ago he decided he wanted to try his hand at something more challenging -something he certainly managed well.

When it comes to his process, even Reugels admits that it is exceptionally difficult, “Sometimes I take 500 pictures and only a couple of them are really perfect in my opinion.”

As for how he does it, well, his set up is actually quite similar (albeit much more professional) to the photographer who created the M.C. Escher water drop image last year. With a handmade wooden rig that both holds the water dropper and the backdrop that will show up in the droplet, Reugels stands behind his camera, poised to get the perfect shot -even after multiple failures.

“There are so many factors who will influence the result – the viscosity of the water ,the height of the drops, the nozzle size even the temperature of the water,” he says.

As someone with little patience, I highly commend this wonderful photographer, not only for his ingenuity, but for the dedication it takes to shoot something that requires such precision. Mr. Reugels, my hat goes off to you.