| Martin Waugh Interview!!! by Sue Babcock |
Martin Waugh’s Liquid Sculpture (see his art at www.liquidsculpture.com)
captivates our love for blurring the line between art and science, between
photography and sculpture. His photographs of “willfully non-linear” liquids are
stunning. They beg the imagination to reach into a puddle of water during a
rainstorm and feel what is there. Martin lives in Oregon and use to have a day job
programming computers. However, he quite his programming job a couple years
ago to have more time for his photography business. It is his work creating and
photographing drips and splashes that he is best known for. Many of the questions
about what equipment he uses and an overview of his techniques can be found at
his blog website at www.martin-waugh.com - but we wanted to know more and he
graciously agreed to spend time with us answering our questions.
captivates our love for blurring the line between art and science, between
photography and sculpture. His photographs of “willfully non-linear” liquids are
stunning. They beg the imagination to reach into a puddle of water during a
rainstorm and feel what is there. Martin lives in Oregon and use to have a day job
programming computers. However, he quite his programming job a couple years
ago to have more time for his photography business. It is his work creating and
photographing drips and splashes that he is best known for. Many of the questions
about what equipment he uses and an overview of his techniques can be found at
his blog website at www.martin-waugh.com - but we wanted to know more and he
graciously agreed to spend time with us answering our questions.
1) I noted that you consider the real challenge to be the manipulation of the
liquids. Do you consider your work more photographic in nature or more like
sculpture because of the effort it takes to get the liquids to do what you want them
to?
The work is more sculpture than photography. Not that the photography portion
doesn’t have its challenges, but mostly I only need to do small adjustments to that
part of the setup. The handling of the liquids continues to require creative solutions.
liquids. Do you consider your work more photographic in nature or more like
sculpture because of the effort it takes to get the liquids to do what you want them
to?
The work is more sculpture than photography. Not that the photography portion
doesn’t have its challenges, but mostly I only need to do small adjustments to that
part of the setup. The handling of the liquids continues to require creative solutions.
2) The term “liquid imagination” denotes imagination that liquefies, that fits
the need of the moment, becoming exactly what is needed at that specific moment
in time. What does the term “liquid sculpture” mean to you?
I think of it as “liquid sculptured into a form” and as “sculpture that is always
changing.” The term originally attracted me because it is something of an
oxymoron – “sculpture” implies a fixed form, whereas “liquid” evokes ever-
changing formlessness.
the need of the moment, becoming exactly what is needed at that specific moment
in time. What does the term “liquid sculpture” mean to you?
I think of it as “liquid sculptured into a form” and as “sculpture that is always
changing.” The term originally attracted me because it is something of an
oxymoron – “sculpture” implies a fixed form, whereas “liquid” evokes ever-
changing formlessness.
3) I know from your website that you use a standard SRL digital camera and a
high speed flash in a darkened room to achieve your spectacular results. When did
you start taking splash pictures? How much trial and error was involved in
developing the techniques and over how long a period of time? What was a major
breakthrough during your early trial and error period?
When I majored in Physics in college I was always entranced by the high-speed
photography and slow-motion films of drops and splashes. About eight years ago,
it occurred to me that with digital camera and flash in hand, I could take some
shots of my own. I played around with the classics – smashing light bulbs, popping
balloons, and dropping water.
The seminal moment came one night while capturing water splashes. I saw one
shape that startled me – it was a typical rebound “spike” from a splash, but it had
a flat top on it. From having seen a few thousand splashes by then, I “knew” what
I had seen was physically impossible. Then I realized that I had captured a second
drop landing on the splash of a previous drop. I decided that such things shouldn’t
happen by accident – they should happen on purpose. So my engineer’s brain went
to work on how to reproduce it at will. That opened up a rich universe of
possibilities. Where one drop does pretty much the same, two drops colliding can
have seemingly countless variations.
high speed flash in a darkened room to achieve your spectacular results. When did
you start taking splash pictures? How much trial and error was involved in
developing the techniques and over how long a period of time? What was a major
breakthrough during your early trial and error period?
When I majored in Physics in college I was always entranced by the high-speed
photography and slow-motion films of drops and splashes. About eight years ago,
it occurred to me that with digital camera and flash in hand, I could take some
shots of my own. I played around with the classics – smashing light bulbs, popping
balloons, and dropping water.
The seminal moment came one night while capturing water splashes. I saw one
shape that startled me – it was a typical rebound “spike” from a splash, but it had
a flat top on it. From having seen a few thousand splashes by then, I “knew” what
I had seen was physically impossible. Then I realized that I had captured a second
drop landing on the splash of a previous drop. I decided that such things shouldn’t
happen by accident – they should happen on purpose. So my engineer’s brain went
to work on how to reproduce it at will. That opened up a rich universe of
possibilities. Where one drop does pretty much the same, two drops colliding can
have seemingly countless variations.
4) How many pictures do you take to get one that you consider artistically
successful? How long of a process is the set up and photography of a series of drip
sculptures? Can you describe a typical process?
I often end up working in two phases: the prototype and the real thing. In the first,
I shoot hundreds or thousands of shots trying to get the fundamentals in place: are
all my lights working and where I want them? Is the background tidy? Are the
drops behaving reliably? Is the color what I want? Is my field of view appropriate?
Et cetera. This is like what people used to use Polaroids for – I use JPEG so I can
see immediate results and don’t fill my disk with throw-aways.
Once I have things more or less understood and in place, I switch to RAW, wash
things up, replace the water with clean, and begin in earnest. I still take hundreds
of pictures, but my success rate is better the second time around.
Sometimes I have a very specific goal, like, “create a splash in the shape of a
martini glass,” and I design a method for doing that. Other times, I might think, “I
wonder what happens if I increase the viscosity of the drop’s liquid?” Then I set out
experimenting. In both cases, serendipity is a rich source of new ideas and effects.
I can spend several days getting things ready to take a shot. I may have to build
equipment or electronics, and work to get the lighting the way I want it. Then the
liquids will get uppity and require taming. This process can burn a few thousand
shots. Then, I have everything cornered right where I want it, and I can get
dozens of shots that are keepers. Those I choose from.
successful? How long of a process is the set up and photography of a series of drip
sculptures? Can you describe a typical process?
I often end up working in two phases: the prototype and the real thing. In the first,
I shoot hundreds or thousands of shots trying to get the fundamentals in place: are
all my lights working and where I want them? Is the background tidy? Are the
drops behaving reliably? Is the color what I want? Is my field of view appropriate?
Et cetera. This is like what people used to use Polaroids for – I use JPEG so I can
see immediate results and don’t fill my disk with throw-aways.
Once I have things more or less understood and in place, I switch to RAW, wash
things up, replace the water with clean, and begin in earnest. I still take hundreds
of pictures, but my success rate is better the second time around.
Sometimes I have a very specific goal, like, “create a splash in the shape of a
martini glass,” and I design a method for doing that. Other times, I might think, “I
wonder what happens if I increase the viscosity of the drop’s liquid?” Then I set out
experimenting. In both cases, serendipity is a rich source of new ideas and effects.
I can spend several days getting things ready to take a shot. I may have to build
equipment or electronics, and work to get the lighting the way I want it. Then the
liquids will get uppity and require taming. This process can burn a few thousand
shots. Then, I have everything cornered right where I want it, and I can get
dozens of shots that are keepers. Those I choose from.
5) Which is your favorite picture or pictures? What makes it (them) special?
Two that come to mind are: “December”, because of the lighting. I like the way
the coolness of the background combines with the ice-like nature of the splash. The
other is “Good Catch”. The red “doughnut” is a glass ring dropped over the splash.
So it was technically quite challenging and the result is visually engaging.
Two that come to mind are: “December”, because of the lighting. I like the way
the coolness of the background combines with the ice-like nature of the splash. The
other is “Good Catch”. The red “doughnut” is a glass ring dropped over the splash.
So it was technically quite challenging and the result is visually engaging.
6) Dr. Harold Edgerton devoted much of his life to photographing things that
we cannot see with the naked eye. One of his most famous is the “Milkdrop
Coronet,” even though he considered himself an engineer and not an artist. You
also mention A.M Worthington, who was an even earlier photographer of splashes.
Were these major influences in your work? Who else influenced your art and why?
When I started, I only had a vague memory of Edgerton’s work, and was not
familiar with Worthington (whose work was very much scientific in nature.) So, my
inspiration was more imagined than real.
After I could reliably capture a drop splash, I began to imagine how I could
improve the result. I kept thinking, “That’s nice, Martin, but the real people stop
the motion better, how are you going to do that?” And after doing that, then,
“Fine, but the real people would get better color, how are you going to do that?”
And, “The real people would have a cleaner background.” And so forth. As it turns
out, my imagined real people never really existed. I was being inspired by
phantoms.
we cannot see with the naked eye. One of his most famous is the “Milkdrop
Coronet,” even though he considered himself an engineer and not an artist. You
also mention A.M Worthington, who was an even earlier photographer of splashes.
Were these major influences in your work? Who else influenced your art and why?
When I started, I only had a vague memory of Edgerton’s work, and was not
familiar with Worthington (whose work was very much scientific in nature.) So, my
inspiration was more imagined than real.
After I could reliably capture a drop splash, I began to imagine how I could
improve the result. I kept thinking, “That’s nice, Martin, but the real people stop
the motion better, how are you going to do that?” And after doing that, then,
“Fine, but the real people would get better color, how are you going to do that?”
And, “The real people would have a cleaner background.” And so forth. As it turns
out, my imagined real people never really existed. I was being inspired by
phantoms.
7) I saw the video of your experience with Jeff Lieberman and the “Time
Warp” crew. I loved seeing the high speed photography clips – they provide
dynamic evidence of the process captured in your stills. What was the best part of
your “Time Warp” experience? What was the most important thing you learned or
took away from the experience?
That was a truly fun experience. The people were great to work with and we got to
do a lot of experimenting.
Two things stick in my mind. First, it takes a lot of light to shoot video at 10,000
frames per second. We had something like 9000 watts of light and I would have
liked to have had at least four times as much. Though you can’t see it in the video,
the tray of water was soon steaming from the heat.
Second, while I have seen each step of the process of a drop colliding with a
splash, I have only seen it one frame at a time. The video allowed me to
understand the speed of the different phases in the life history of the collision. And
I was surprised. The collision is a fast-moving drop landing on top of a nearly
motionless splash (if that makes sense.)
Warp” crew. I loved seeing the high speed photography clips – they provide
dynamic evidence of the process captured in your stills. What was the best part of
your “Time Warp” experience? What was the most important thing you learned or
took away from the experience?
That was a truly fun experience. The people were great to work with and we got to
do a lot of experimenting.
Two things stick in my mind. First, it takes a lot of light to shoot video at 10,000
frames per second. We had something like 9000 watts of light and I would have
liked to have had at least four times as much. Though you can’t see it in the video,
the tray of water was soon steaming from the heat.
Second, while I have seen each step of the process of a drop colliding with a
splash, I have only seen it one frame at a time. The video allowed me to
understand the speed of the different phases in the life history of the collision. And
I was surprised. The collision is a fast-moving drop landing on top of a nearly
motionless splash (if that makes sense.)
8) Based on comments at your blog site, your art has been used by students
worldwide. Which student project is your favorite and why?
My favorite has been the 5th graders in an American school in Brazil. They created
a cross-disciplinary project that combined science, art, and writing. I very much
appreciate approaching concepts from multiple angles and seeing how they connect
with different topics in different subject areas. And, it makes the concepts available
to students with a variety of learning styles and interests.
9) How are your efforts for stereo-photography of the droplets coming? Will
these be displayed on your website? How will the typical internet viewer see the
3D image (should I get my 3D glasses ready)?
That work has stalled. John Hart at the University of Colorado has done some work
on it.
10) Where do you get your ideas for colors, viscosities, depths of the liquid,
timing of the drips and the other variables that you alter to create such a fantastic
array of liquid sculptures?
Most frequently new ideas come from serendipity – seeing unexpected results as I
am pursuing some other matter. But, they can arise from observing nature, from
listening to others, or extrapolating from work I’ve already done.
11) What’s next for you? What direction do you see yourself growing as an
artist?
That’s a hard one. I would like to provide something more kinesthetic in nature
and participatory. People get quite engaged with this stuff, and allowing them to be
a part of it would be grand.
12) Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?
No. I think you’ve done a fine job of asking questions.
worldwide. Which student project is your favorite and why?
My favorite has been the 5th graders in an American school in Brazil. They created
a cross-disciplinary project that combined science, art, and writing. I very much
appreciate approaching concepts from multiple angles and seeing how they connect
with different topics in different subject areas. And, it makes the concepts available
to students with a variety of learning styles and interests.
9) How are your efforts for stereo-photography of the droplets coming? Will
these be displayed on your website? How will the typical internet viewer see the
3D image (should I get my 3D glasses ready)?
That work has stalled. John Hart at the University of Colorado has done some work
on it.
10) Where do you get your ideas for colors, viscosities, depths of the liquid,
timing of the drips and the other variables that you alter to create such a fantastic
array of liquid sculptures?
Most frequently new ideas come from serendipity – seeing unexpected results as I
am pursuing some other matter. But, they can arise from observing nature, from
listening to others, or extrapolating from work I’ve already done.
11) What’s next for you? What direction do you see yourself growing as an
artist?
That’s a hard one. I would like to provide something more kinesthetic in nature
and participatory. People get quite engaged with this stuff, and allowing them to be
a part of it would be grand.
12) Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about yourself?
No. I think you’ve done a fine job of asking questions.
| Go to www.Liquidsculpture.com and visit Martin Waugh's website today! |