This photographic technique adds an ice crystal appearance to your photo. In this case, a rose surrounded by babies breath and fern in a glass vase. The rose was positioned close against a north facing window and then a piece of 16″ x 16″ sculpted glass placed between the camera and the rose. A quick trip to your local stain glass shop will yield a large selection of sculpted clear glass with an array of surface designs available.
I experimented with the distance between the rose and the sculpted glass to achieve just the right effect. Of course this is personal preference and the effect you’re trying to achieve.
Room Lights Off
Room lights were turned off and the image was captured with only available light coming through the window. Since I was shooting through glass (a super reflective surface) I chose to have the room dark, not even a reflector for fill light. With light levels on the low side a tripod was necessary.
- Nikon D90
- 18-200mm VR lens
- ISO 200
- f/8
- 1/5 sec exposure
Not Just Still Life
The ice crystal technique can be used for a variety of subject matter, not just close-ups as in the case of the rose. I have used the technique to record sunsets and scenics with very artistic results. As I mentioned earlier, visit your local stained glass shop and you’ll discover many variations of sculpted glass to experiment with.
You can enhance the ice crystal effect by a bit of post production work by using Photoshops high pass filter. It tends to yield a little a little HDR appearance but you can easily dial the effect down a few notches to suite your taste.
Using Photoshop High Pass Filter
