I was out light writing with the camera club tonight. It's one of our more popular photo outings. It was cold tonight, but still lots of fun. It was also the first time we tried spinning two lights at a time. I love how the people are an odd combination of solid and opaque!
@bill_fe Thanks Bill! Saw a bunch of your shots tonight but I'm still shivering from this outing! So, I'll be back to comment tomorrow! But they looked great!
This is so awesome, once we get more snow here, I want to try this with my daughter and friends, it will be a great pick me up for her. Thanx for sharing your idea, the photos are fabulous!
This was amazing! I like it better than the other I think because it has fountains of like coming out of the main source! I also like the fact that you can see the snow on the ground!
Fabulous effect. I would love to try this but with our extremely hot, dry weather and severe water shortage I shall have to wait for more conducive conditions.
Thanks to all and a special thanks to those who fav'd it!! Yes, it was a lot of fun. Here's how we did it:
You need a wire whisk (it must be metal), a short dog leash and a hook to connect the two. You will also need 00, 000 or finer steel wool and a lighter. Choose a location that is not near tall grasses or flammable items. The sparks are hot but they don't really burn anything like a flame, but it's better to be on the side of safe. The spot we do this is right next to the Delaware River. In the summer we were directly on the pavement, but this doesn't get plowed in winter, hence the snow. Some folks recommend putting a hat on- that's up to you. No one in our group has ever had sparks fall on their head. Take a cluster of steel wool and pull it apart so that it's less compact and air can get through it. Then stuff it inside the whisk. Use the lighter or some other form of ignition (we used a can of sterno this time) to light the steel wool. Once it's lit, hold the whisk out at arm's length dangling from the chain and twirl the chain about. You can do a number of patterns or in a circle- whatever suits your fancy! Sparks will fly out as you twirl the whisk. You can also allow it to skim across the ground which will send more sparks out too.
Your camera should be set at 200 ISO, manual focus (it's best to focus on something first with your camera on a tripod), with the shutter speed on B. Press the shutter and hold until you are finished twirling the steel wool. Obviously it takes two people to do this! In this shot there were two twirlers.
@cjphoto thank you Chris! You'll need a friend to help you (umm... don't tell CJ but it has to be someone who can move their hands and arms on their own!) but it's super fun- both to do and to photograph.
@olivetreeann - Hahaha, CJ's range of rotation for his arms isn't that great either (but that'll be our secret). I'm sure my sister and cousins would love to help me out. What do you use to create the light?
@cjphoto If you look up about half way up the discussion thread where I've said thanks to some there's a lengthy explanation as to how it's done. I'd type it out again, but I'm lazy!
Thanks to all and a special thanks to those who fav'd it!! Yes, it was a lot of fun. Here's how we did it:
You need a wire whisk (it must be metal), a short dog leash and a hook to connect the two. You will also need 00, 000 or finer steel wool and a lighter. Choose a location that is not near tall grasses or flammable items. The sparks are hot but they don't really burn anything like a flame, but it's better to be on the side of safe. The spot we do this is right next to the Delaware River. In the summer we were directly on the pavement, but this doesn't get plowed in winter, hence the snow. Some folks recommend putting a hat on- that's up to you. No one in our group has ever had sparks fall on their head. Take a cluster of steel wool and pull it apart so that it's less compact and air can get through it. Then stuff it inside the whisk. Use the lighter or some other form of ignition (we used a can of sterno this time) to light the steel wool. Once it's lit, hold the whisk out at arm's length dangling from the chain and twirl the chain about. You can do a number of patterns or in a circle- whatever suits your fancy! Sparks will fly out as you twirl the whisk. You can also allow it to skim across the ground which will send more sparks out too.
Your camera should be set at 200 ISO, manual focus (it's best to focus on something first with your camera on a tripod), with the shutter speed on B. Press the shutter and hold until you are finished twirling the steel wool. Obviously it takes two people to do this! In this shot there were two twirlers.
@daisymiller Thanks Daisy!
@kategoring Thanks Kate and thanks so much for the fav!
@cashew Thanks Kathy and thank you for the fav too!
@kandkids Thanks Karen!
@sailingmusic Thanks Myrna!
@eudora Thanks Diane and thanks for the fav!
@pistache Thank you Clare!
Thank you Nicole!
Thank you Debs! I didn't even know there was a "curated page"!
Thank you Disha!
@photographycrazy Thank you Bill!