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Suspended Worlds – with oil and water

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.

As readers will know, I regularly post oil and water pictures on my blog. I have completed a couple of sessions and now have a new set of pictures to share. The differences in these photos lie in the various backgrounds I have used. These backgrounds come from several sources, including magazines, children’s books, and abstract colour pictures that I have created in Photoshop.

Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.
The use of LED lights in the background has worked in this picture

I am also improving how I use the light source and am working to prevent the reflections that occasionally compromised the quality of previous photos. LED lights were used in some of the pictures. Although they mostly overpowered the images of the oil drops, though there was the occasional success. Switching to another brand of oil may have helped but, again I am unsure whether this is truly critical to the success of the pictures.

Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.
A colourful black hole.
Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.
A background of some lips from a magazine cover was used for this picture.
Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.
Compartments of colour.
Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.
An exposed centre.

I use a spirit level app on my iPhone placed on the top to ensure the lens is at 90 degrees to the surface of the water. A large open aperture ensures that the maximum light is hitting the sensor.  However, at f/2.8 your depth of field becomes narrow so focussing and positioning of the lens is critical to a sharp picture. Good technique helps reduce ISO noise and allows more information to be retained in the image which again will undergo cropping to get the desired photograph.

Suspended worlds, Oil and Water, July 2025.
A cluster of moons around larger planets.

I hope you enjoy the current crop of pictures (pardon the pun).

Here are a few more oil and water pictures to enjoy.

Oil on the water
Categories blog

Nothing but flowers in my garden

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Flowers in my garden, April 2025

I love linking pictures to songs from my youth, and Talking Heads were a big influence on my musical tastes after seeing them back in 1978 at the then Manchester Polytechnic. Even more surprising was that the support band was Dire Straits—but I digress. The title of the song “(Nothing but) Flowers” ties in nicely with the following set of photographs.

Flowers in my garden, April 2025
A dark approach to the series.

I am not the best gardener, but I do enjoy taking pictures of flowers—both cultivated and wild varieties. With the fine weather, spring has arrived and many of the flowers in my garden are in full bloom. I was keen to take pictures of them but with a slight twist in composition. With photography, setting yourself a mini project is fun. My aim with this set of pictures was to complete a macro series looking closely at the flowers in my garden.

Flowers in my garden, April 2025
Unsure what is happening here but fun to photograph.

I have a 100mm Canon macro lens set up with a ring flash, and it works well on my Canon 5D Mk IV. I was taught by the best how to use ring flash photography for my dentistry work, and this Canon macro setup has served me well over the years. My settings for this series were aperture f/22, shutter speed 1/100 sec, and ISO 100. Flash power varied between 1/1 and ¼ depending on the available light. I prefer the manual flash setting for this work as I am able to control the amount of light on the subject.

Flowers in my garden, April 2025
A dramatic clash of colours.

Composition: I aimed to photograph the flowers in my garden from an above point of view. By firing the flash directly at the flower, I would illuminate the centre, with the light falling off around the edges to create a black vignette. The pictures are full of contrast, and the colours are vivid. I like the effect, and I used the circular design of the flowers to fill the square crop.

Flowers in my garden, April 2025
the symmetry and geometry of nature.

I enjoyed this experimental approach to using the ring flash in this way and appreciated the sharpness and contrast in the images. Maybe next time, I will look out for some small insects to interact with the flowers. Nature certainly knows how to put on a good show—with beautiful symmetry and geometric design.

Flowers in my garden, April 2025
Intense yellow colours on a white background.

These pictures were of my flowers taken in my back garden. I also mentioned that I enjoyed pictures of wildflower landscapes. Please visit my link below to see a beautiful poppy field in Kinver, Staffordshire.

Poppies on the morning edge