Amazing portraits shot with water droplet acting as lens

The world’s most cost-effective portrait lens is awesome on your hip pocket, but is clearly not an ideal choice from any travel, conflict, or reportage assignments. Dutch photographer Robin de Puy has recently created a striking series of portrait with a rather novel lens.

Part of an online advertising campaign for bottled water company, SPA Nederland, the idea was conceived by JWT Amsterdam. What makes the portraits so very unique is that they were shot using a droplet of SPA water to act as the lens in order to be able to produce The Purest Picture.

Combining the science of fluid dynamics, electricity, and optics, de Puy was able to produce a variety of portraits. The drop of water was placed on a glass plate with a water-repellent surface to ensure the droplet remained spherical. The “camera” also relied on a diaphragm – to act as the aperture, and an image sensor. Focussing of the lens was done by apply an electrostatic charge to the plate. For the scientifically orientated, the process is known as electrowetting.

Accodding to de Puy: "Spa challenged me to experiment with a unique medium: photography through a liquid lens made of Spa water. Although liquid lenses are not new, they have not been used for photography up until now. For this project a one of a kind camera was built by the scientists at Etulipa."

A set of the portraits can be seen on DP review.

To see how they did it, check out the technical breakdown video below.