Capturing cymatics with Shinobi II

From a young age, visual artist Chris Psutka has been drawn to water, finding fascination in its movement and depth. “I’ve always had a deep connection to water – whether that’s spending time at our family cottage on the water, swimming, scuba diving or capturing it through photography,” he shares. This life-long passion led him to cymatics – the study of the visible effects of sound and vibration – where he transforms frequencies into visual art. “Through captivating videos and imagery, I turn sound into an experience, revealing the hidden geometric patterns that frequencies create within physical matter,” he explains. Chris is also the founder of Seeing Into The Unknown, where he documents and shares his discoveries.

Chris’s journey into cymatics was unexpected, but it became a defining moment that steered his career in a different direction. “I stumbled across cymatics during a difficult time in my life,” he reflects. As a self-taught photographer and filmmaker, he found himself questioning the originality of his work. “I realized that I wasn’t actually creating anything original. It felt like I was just recreating content similar to what my online teachers were sharing.” Searching for a creative breakthrough, he immersed himself in cymatics. “I was instantly fascinated. Cymatics is the only thing in life that I’ve found that didn’t really have a road map. The freedom to experiment without a predetermined path is what I had been searching for all along,” he shares.

Chris thrives on experimentation, refining his techniques to produce striking images. “For me, capturing cymatics is all about play,” he explains. “I don’t have a background in science or physics, so I am constantly testing new ideas and learning from each attempt. It’s all trial and error, but in an extremely exciting way.”

Chris relies on a carefully selected setup for the process. “To capture cymatics, you need a speaker, amplifier, tone generator, a dish of water, a light source, and a camera,” Chris notes. As sound frequencies pass through the speaker, they cause vibrations that ripple through the water. When the amplitude reaches a certain level, the ripples fold back in on themselves, creating symmetrical patterns. “When a clear, stable, symmetrical formation appears, it means there is resonance. If the pattern is unstable, there is dissonance – equally beautiful in its own way.”

Lighting and composition further shape the final appearance. Chris spends a lot of time fine-tuning exposure and color schemes, making sure each pattern is captured correctly. “Tiny changes in lighting, exposure, or focus can make or break a shot,” he says. To achieve the best results, Chris relies on a Canon EOS R and Sony A7S III as his primary cameras, paired with a 24-105mm F4 and a 100mm F2.8 macro lens to capture fine details. He often uses ring lights for lighting, alongside a 10-inch subwoofer to generate the sound frequencies.

“Cymatics isn’t an easy process, and I am always looking for anything that can help me be more effective. Shinobi II is a great example of this.”