Liquid Sculptures

The mesmerising 'liquid sculptures' took endless patience, hundreds of camera clicks and SIX MONTHS to create

• Tapan Sheth, a photographer from India, took six months to create these dream-like 'liquid sculptures'
• Images created by letting drop fall into coloured liquid then very quickly pressing the camera shutter

It may have taken six months, hundred of pictures and endless patience, but the efforts of Indian photographer Tapan Sheth have all been worth it after he managed to capture these stunning images of 'water sculptures'.

Sheth, from Rajkot, in Gujarat, added coloured dye to liquid along with guar gum, a food thickener similar to cornflour, then set up his camera equipment.

The 34-year-old  got these mesmerising images by letting a drop fall into the rest of the liquid, then quickly pressing the camera shutter.

Tapan Sheth, 34, from India, took six months to create these mesmerising images by letting coloured droplets fall into liquid

To create the magical effects Sheth added coloured dyes and guar gum, a thickener similar to cornfour, to water before letting the drop fall

What do you see?: While each formation occurs naturally and is completely unique, many have an undeniable likeness to mushrooms, including these two 

Sheth created all of the images in his own home in Rajkot, Gujarat province, including this one which resembles and umbrella

He said: 'There are lots of things involved in the photography of liquid sculptures. There is proper preparation, setup, controller and much more required to get the effect. 

'The most important part is the passion; if you don't have passion you really won't able to achieve this. From 100's of clicks I hardly get five to ten perfect shots. Sometimes a complete session could fail.'

As each shape only exists for a fraction of a second, timing really is the key to capturing these impressive images.

Sheth says the most important element in his creations is passion, as for every 100 frames he takes, only five or ten might be useable images, and he has seen whole shoots fail to produce anything

Inkblot: The images are all similar to inkblot tests carried out by psychiatrists which can be viewed in a variety of different ways 

This tree-like image was captured by Sheth who says: 'When I see my pictures, I don't have words what I see. Liquid sculptures are a jewel for me'

While many of the droplets look similar, they can form into a variety of interesting 'sculptures' such as this one which looks like a wine glass or goblet

Many form into umbrella-like shapes, while some seem to mimic mushrooms and others look like trees with one resembling a cup.

Tapan added: 'After many failed attempts and efforts I got the result I was looking for for my liquid sculpture photography.

I really can't believe the reaction I get, it's simply awesome when you praised by people around the world. When I see my pictures, I don't have words for what I see. Liquid sculptures are a jewel for me.'

Sheth is also a wildlife photographer taking pictures large animals such as lions, hyenas deer and monkeys; and insects like spiders, frogs and dragonflies

Creating liquid sculptures is a popular form of art and practitioners can be found across the globe, usually using hi-tech equipment and flash photography to create the dream-like images