Sparklers and Steel Wool

[ccphoto]

The first one is a composite of two sparklers. The first sparkler was multi-colored, thus giving a lot of red/yellow tints and the second was pure white but while bright, it burned out quite quickly (Wal-Mart sparklers). Both were shot in twilight conditions as there were two of us trying to teach beginners the how to's of this kind of light painting. Both were shot at ISO 40, 5.6, 25 sec (and for whatever reason, I had my EV at .67 - probably left over from doing some bird shooting.)

The second was also a composite image of two separate steel wool twirls. The first shot was at f/11, 25 sec, ISO 160 .67 EV and the second layer was at f/14 just to add a bit more darkness without overpowering. Blending was a simple overlay of the light over the dark and painting in the details with a black brush on the layer mask. The last two shots were shot thirty minutes later than the first image, thus the darker imagery.

The last one was a single shot at f/7.1, 30 sec ISO 160 .67 EV. I did do some clarity bumping for the dramatic coloration.

I was shooting a Nikon D850 w/ 24-120 Nikkor lens on an Artec Carbon Fiber tripod. We shot on the low tide flats on the bay side of the Gulf of Mexico, specifically so we could get good reflections.

We used a kitchen whisker (metal) with a short rope attached to it for height in the spin. We used 0000 grade steel wool (the lighter, the better the burn) which we stuffed into the inner wires of the whisk and lit with a fire wand.

[ST1]

Well done, nicely described method too


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[mugge]

Just great. The last one is my favorite.
Cheers Ole

[Manfred M]

These days I prefer LED light sources shot in the studio for light painting. Less chance of injury from burning iron.

That being said, those techniques don't provide the lovely spray of sparks you have in these images and doing so in water where the sparks are extinguished is smart from a safety standpoint. I suspect your "students" had a lot of fun at this shoot.

[ccphoto]

We were doing this on the tidal flats at least 50 feet from the shoreline. Tidal pools provided the reflections. We tried LED''s earlier but they just don't have that streaky look with the little flares coming off the primary wand...and we are very careful, wearing hats, googles and long sleeve pants and shirts.

[Wavelength]

Wonderful captures Chris