With just a camera, a flash, an electronic valve and some good old-fashioned H2O, Bay of Plenty-based fine arts photographer Paul Oellermann can basically control water.

And with these simple elements on hand, Paul can essentially freeze the collision of two water drops.

Bay of Plenty-based fine arts photographer Paul Oellermann with his photos. Photo by: Tracy Hardy.

It's called high speed liquid photography, and the result is something spectacular.

Proof can be found on the walls at Creative Tauranga until June 15, where some 48 snap shots of water collisions are on display in Paul's ‘In a Different Light Fine Art Photography' exhibition.

No, it's not all done by Photoshop. In fact, there's very little post processing involved, says Paul. He calls it photographic-based fine art.

'All the content is already there,” he says.

And no, it's not a fluke. He isn't standing there dripping water from an eyedropper in one hand and the camera in the other, frantically trying to press the button at the right time. 'That would be very frustrating,” admits Paul.

'These events happen faster than the blink of an eye and are only reliably captured with the use of electronic valves and triggers.”

A solenoid valve releases the drops. 'With that you can control the size of the drops, the interval between them and the timing of taking the photo,” he adds.

And it's not always water that he uses. Paul sometimes uses milk to create a denser look, or cream to make a ‘crown' shape.

Does it require a lot of patience? 'Yes and no,” says Paul. 'The biggest thing with photography is experimentation and trying something new.”

As far as he knows, Paul is the only person in Tauranga and perhaps New Zealand experimenting with this type of photography.

But it's not the only photography he does. Before high speed liquid photography, Paul was snapping photos of landscapes using long exposure techniques. He's also a fan of infrared.

He says: 'The theme behind the exhibition with the landscapes and high speed photography is of scenes and what we have around us – but it's seen in a different way.”

It's the first time his images have been displayed in an exhibition and Paul is pretty proud of his work.

'A lot of people look at the photos and they can't figure out how it's been done or what it is,” he admits.

Paul is still getting used to the idea of speaking to people about his artwork, as he's used to letting his photos speak for themselves.

'But as an artist,” he says, 'you get to the point where you've got a body of work that you're actually proud of and you're happy to sell to people.

'Just like with all art, there's a little bit of you in each piece. It's not quite selling your soul, but it's pretty close.

'Seeing it all here together all framed up and hanging - it does make you feel proud.”

They're all selling at reasonable prices too, with the price tag on the most expensive photo at the exhibition reading a little more than $300.

Paul Oellermann's exhibition ‘In a Different Light Fine Art Photography' is on at Creative Tauranga until June 15.