Triple Break

I’ve broken lots of glass. It’s a mess but it’s an incredible adrenaline rush when it hits the table after falling 10 feet. My record is 7 glasses all caught at the moment of impact.

How is it done? Well I use a sound trigger or I use plain old reflexes. Both work but the reflex method takes lots of concentration and a drop assistant. Practice helps. When a sound trigger is used I start in a dark room and open the shutter for 10 seconds. I run up the ladder and pick up the glasses placed on a board about 10 feet over the table. The drop point, camera focus plane, flash position, must all be planned ahead. Move the glasses an inch or two either way and they will be out of focus or not centered in the frame. Not only that, the glasses have to be free of finger prints, the water color added has to be the right denisty so sufficient light can pass and everything has to be protected, including your flash equipment, because water splashes everywhere. Each shot takes about 4 hours.