A DVD & Olive Oil !

During the winter months when getting out and about is difficult and the light is not too good I like to play about with table-top photography now and then.
All I needed for this photo was an old DVD, a desk lamp and a few drops of olive oil.

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An incense stick and desk lamp can produce interesting results and you can never tell what you are going to get.

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Wow, two lovely ideas Dave.
I think I can understand the smoke one but how did you achieve the DVD one please?
Jenny

 

Jenny, if you shine a light on a CD or DVD you'll see that depending on the incident angle of the light a rainbow prism is formed. Due to the small size of the discs the 'rainbow' is fairly narrow - it spreads out at a small angle from a pinpoint in the centre. You really need a lens that will give a macro image if you want to fill or almost fill the frame. Next you need a few very small drops of oil. I dropped the oil on the disc from a tooth pick as you only need tiny drops.
I just placed the DVD on the table, moved the small desk lamp and camera around until I'd a decent rainbow, dropped the oil and pressed the shutter. A tripod helps.

 

Thank you Dave,
so, it's a single take - with a selection of different sized oil drops on the disc? Is that correct?
Jenny

 

Yes a single image, though one of many taken as some turn out better than others!
Drop size tends to be a bit hit or miss but trying to get a bit of variation is a good idea.
Next time you have a CD in your hands either in sunlight or under artificial light try tilting it and watching the rainbows.
You do have to get a very close focus as the drops are tiny.

 

Interesting ideas Dave.