Jason Tozer: Fire & Water

Jason Tozer’s been at it again. His photographs of bubbles, presented here on the CR blog, formed one of our most popular posts. Now he takes a (very) close look at water drops.

In the latest in our series of CR Commissions (our joint projects with commercial partners) Tozer was once again asked to shoot a series of pictures on behalf of Sony, this time using its new Alpha 900 digital SLR camera. His subject: water droplets.

Clicking on each image will take you to the much larger version, housed on the CR Flickr page. The full set, including more like these, is here.

As the camera has a very high number of megapixels (24.6, making it, Sony says, the highest resolving DSLR) the idea was to shoot an object and crop into a section of the photograph to show the detail. In this way, Tozer was able to create the first image in this post (top) by extracting it from the larger image, shown below.

“You dont really take a picture and think, ‘look at the resolution on this!’” Tozer says. “The times you need a hi-res chip are when you want to crop into an action shot – cut into it and know you have enough left for a useable file. We shot something very detailed this time, so that if you isolate a section of a larger picture, there’s still enough information there that the new image isn’t breaking up.”

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“I’m shooting with three different light sources in three different colours, with different speeds of flash on each colour,” says Tozer.

“The green light shows the droplet sharp, the red light captures it moving, giving it an ethereal quality. Then we brought in the yellow-white tungsten light. Using them all means that some of the image is sharp, some is moving. It’s like the water’s on fire.”

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“With the shutter open more, you get these really long fiery trails,” says Tozer. “Some droplets look like they have smoke coming out of them…”

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As often the case with Tozer’s work, the set-ups used to generate the photographs are quite low-tech in their construction. Here, for example, are some behind the scenes pics of Tozer and his assistant creating this current series of images.

More info on the camera can be found here.

Comments...

Plug plug plug…

action man
18/Nov/08, 2:04 pm

The top image is by far the best on here. The others are a bit too dark and lack depth/mystery. These aren’t as good as the bubble series (sorry), but I guess Tozer feels a sort of *need* to stay on theme (or his clients did)? - water is the logical next step; macro bubble, macro water, next- macro oil, macro mercury, macro sand, macro snow…

I lucked in on some quite interesting water shots (very amature) back in my uni days, check out:
http://www.lucymarks.com/portfolio/photographs/water5.jpg
http://www.lucymarks.com/portfolio/photographs/water7.jpg
http://www.lucymarks.com/portfolio/photographs/water4.jpg

These were just taken in the bathroom- a glass bauble under a running tap with good ol’ 35mm.

That is one thing I do admire about Tozers work- the low tech approach when you see how it was done. A guy holding a shower head. Priceless.

Lucy Grafham
18/Nov/08, 3:56 pm

I hope Tozer enjoys your work as much as you enjoy his, Lucy.

Ken
18/Nov/08, 4:39 pm

Lacking the originality of the first set I would say. I thought the bubbles were fabulous, and somehow other-worldly, these droplets have very little of interest about them, in my humble opinion. As a set of images, I would say they all seem very similar. I do think Jason is a great photographer though.

Gary
18/Nov/08, 5:11 pm

the 3rd one down looks like a little cartoon mouse

sera
19/Nov/08, 4:52 pm

I think some of these pics are really interesting and nice to look at. Jason’s last set of bubbles pics were also visually lovely to look at and colourful (great for selling cameras too). However, I feel these are a little different, more created than simply recorded. There are plenty of people running around with Sony digital cameras simply taking pictures, not many making pictures. If you see my point. I think I saw some jellyfish like these on holiday a couple of months ago. I’m taking a Sony on my next holiday, those colours are great!

alex
19/Nov/08, 4:59 pm

If everyone could see the world as strange and pure as we can through Jason’s lens, we probably wouldn’t have to worry too much about free range organic goat’s milk cappuccino any more!

Alex
19/Nov/08, 5:36 pm

Just read Lucy’s comments. Isn’t the “need” to stay on a theme crucial in the development of a personal style? I think its great if people are paying for this development also. As for the comments Lucy made on the lo tech approach - how else should the shower head be held? Robocop or the Terminator perhaps? Now that would be priceless - might blow the budget though.

alex
19/Nov/08, 5:40 pm

The Heston Blumenthal of photography does it again! These are brilliant, great detail, great quality the more you crop in …. incredible. I’m enjoying the continuing theme of bubbles … where will it take you next - look foward to the next idea.

Tilly
19/Nov/08, 5:44 pm

Jason’s just a genius photographer & these images confirm that for me - fortunately I’m his agent! Well done Jason these are truly brilliant.

Dilys
19/Nov/08, 5:58 pm

I think its irrelevant comparing this set of photographs to the bubble images which are undoubtably particularly captivating but do we expect a musician to keep on giving us the same song over and over? Well I guess it works for Oasis but they are rubbish.

Its a different set of images of a different subject. I think they are pretty darn ace, image 11 and 12 are beautiful. Ephemeral moments of time captured for us to have a close look at.
Also if you read what Jason Tozer is trying to achieve:

“The times you need a hi-res chip are when you want to crop into an action shot – cut into it and know you have enough left for a useable file. We shot something very detailed this time, so that if you isolate a section of a larger picture, there’s still enough information there that the new image isn’t breaking up.”

Hasn’t he done just that? As is often forgotten on blogs, there are also a client and brief…..
Looking at Jason Tozer’s recent works, these images are part of his ongoing interest in capturing images that the eye might not allow us to see. I say well done Jason Tozer, thanks for more fabulous images and for sharing the behind the scene stuff which may make what you do seem easy….

Also Lucy, top of the blog, isn’t it great that CR allows people to post freely. While we are all allowed our own opinions, isn’t it rude to be derogatory, sarcastic and then self publicise your own paltry attempts? Its too easy, really you should try harder. I agree with ” Ken” I wonder what Jason Tozer would make of your work?

Thanks again Jason Tozer, keep it up!

lou lou
20/Nov/08, 12:25 am

These pictures are simply beautiful!. Aside from the photos, something that is highly valueable is the originality and idea that produced this outcome. When Lucy comes around having this type of originality, then maybe we can appriciate her HI-TECH approach(and the hand in the picture.. well, thats priceless).

ricecandydotnet
21/Nov/08, 7:15 am

These are pretty nice images. I liked the bubbles too. These ones are more technical looking. Nice series.

AppleBob
21/Nov/08, 5:51 pm

If you are interested in more water/ bubble photography please take a look at my images.
http://gregneumaier.com/personal/index.html

I shot these in 2007 using Hasselblad 120mm Phaseone P45.

Bubbles are great fun to photograph and need virtually no retouching. I just did a quick levels adjustment, crop to my images.

greg neumaier
22/Nov/08, 5:30 pm

Well Whoopee Doo for you Greg.

Why not see if Creative Review would like to run a blog all about you? With your Hasselblad lens & everything!

Oh, you know what? maybe it’s easier to just piggy back on someone else’s work…

AppleBob
23/Nov/08, 9:38 am

A true bearded genius and an inspiration to us all. Do I spot some if his amazing facial hair in the shots? Anyone that can combine a love of water and beards and make something beautiful out of them is a true genius. How can I ever shower again without an immense sense of wonder at the beauty that surrounds me. As my old lecturer Arthur Stenchworthy used to say ‘Water is as water does!” Wise words I think you’ll agree.

The Maddest of Dogs
05/Dec/08, 12:24 pm

All due respect but I think Greg’s images are much more interesting.

honest joe
11/Dec/08, 5:23 pm

ricecandydotnet, lou lou, and everyone else who seemed offended,

I like Tozers work- I’m sorry if my comments came across sarcastic, the last paragraph was not intended so. I love the low-tech approach- there is beauty in it’s simplicity. I was interested in the method and the execution which is why I wrote.

I did prefer the bubble series- but hey! that’s just my opinion.

The images I linked to prev. *are* ameteur- and I duly stated it!! They were done circa 2000- so don’t give me a b*ll*cking for lack of orginality.

Perhaps you high end creative types think I shouldn’t be sharing my images when they haven’t been polished enough- or perhaps you lack the imagination to see the potential results of an alternative approach to a similar theme?

Lucy Grafham
12/Dec/08, 12:44 pm

Some of these plus bubbles & more from the upcoming gallery show ‘Close’ here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasontozer/

Jason Tozer
17/Dec/08, 3:25 pm

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