Harold Edgerton (US American, 1903-1990)
Milkdrop Coronet, 1957
dye transfer print
20″ x 16″
Gift of the Harold and Esther Edgerton Family Foundation, 2001.35
Considering himself an engineer, and not an artist, Harold Edgerton devoted his life to capturing high speed photography and film. While his original interest lay in the mechanical aspects of inventing tools such as strobe lights, Edgerton soon became invested in creating the correct environments to capture beautiful photographs. One of his most well-known high-speed images, Milkdrop Coronet, took years and hundreds of shots to obtain the perfect image of what happens when a drop of milk hits the floor. The choice to surround the drop with red allows for a strong contrast between the white milk and the red dish. The rounded edges of the dish echo the ring of milk, and the shadows play off of one another creating several different tones of red throughout the composition. Milkdrop Cornet serves as a reminder of how an elegantly simple yet beautiful image can take a lifetime of expertise and experimentation.