To catch a drop of water in mid-air, or a splash at precisely the right moment, Walter used a set-up similar to the diagram at left. A laser beam placed above the camera and in the path of the drops is used to trip the camera.

A timing device is used to delay the moment the camera takes the picture.

The picture at right is the actual set used for Splashing Drop. The background of the scene was created with a photograph –a backlit 8x10 transparency.

Even though the photo-background is out of focus, it gives the scene a sense of environment and something more than gray tones to refract in the drop that's falling through the air.