Digital image is already post-processed even when you have 'raw' file to play with, since ADC in your camera already assigned colors to pixels according to filter array (if it's not Leica M Monochrom or ancient digital back), included different corrections (like dead pixels remapping) and some settings. Even when you print straight from negative to paper in a darkroom, there IS some degree of post-processing, whether you want it or not. Everything else REQUIRES post-processing. If you want to live without post-processing, stick to original Daguerre's process. You can see more of Markus Reugels' imagery on his Flickr photostream. This is the reason why the shutter speed is not important.' With such settings the flash duration is faster than 1/16000 second. He says, 'You must set the power of the flash lower than 1/16 to get sharp pictures. It's important to know that Reugels freezes the motion, not with shutter speed, but with flash. To get smooth shapes that hold their form longer before breaking up, I increase the viscosity of the water drops by adding guar gum.'

Slow the rate down to about 6 drops per second to create hat shapes. Increase that to about 15 drops per second and you get flying disc shapes.

At a rate of roughly 10 drops per second you get mushroom shapes. It's actually the distance between the drops that determines the precise shape. The second drop must be timed so that it lands on the pillar, with the collision then forming shapes like a mushroom, hat or flying disc. The first drop falls into the water and forms in succession, a crater, then a crown and finally, what I call the 'pillar'. 'The basic technique works with two drops.

The setup Reugels has built allows him to precisely control the drop rate and lighting when creating his unique imagery. He lights the scene with a Vivitar 285 that he's modified in order to set the output lower than 1/16 power. He shoots with a Sony SLT-A77 and Minolta 100 f2.8 Macro lens. If you've ever wondered what it takes to get shots like the ones above, here's a behind-the-scenes shot of the table-top rig Reugels currently uses. German photographer Markus Reugels has gained quite a bit of attention over the years for his stunning and colorful high-speed photographs of the shapes and forms created when liquid is dropped into water.

Flickr macro photography