Eye of Fire

Clawed · Jun 28, 2011

Hi there!

I decided to do a little light painting tonight. Let me know what you think, as I certainly appreciate any feedback ~

Regards,
Canaan

Eye of Fire by Clawed1, on Flickr

tyler_h · Jun 28, 2011

Haha, when I read your title I was anticipating a question about red-eye lol.

Pretty cool shot, using the enclosed space has some effects. Quite good exposure too (or at least appears that on this monitor (I think my gamma is a little high)).

kdeerhake · Jun 28, 2011

Very Cool. What did you use to achieve those effects?

CBURKE · Jun 28, 2011

That is great!!!

Clawed · Jun 28, 2011

Thank you!

So, as to how I did this: it's a technique called steel wool spinning. I would be happy to explain my setup if you would like:

- First, get some steel wool (can be purchased at a hardware store, though I found it at WalMart - grade 0000 worked well for me)
- Then, find a way to house / cage it so that it does not fly away when you spin it (I use a kitchen whisk).
- You want to attach the end of the whisk to a cable (some use metal coat hangers, which I have not tried)
- Then, light the wool. I use the end of a 9V battery to ignite it (touch the two prong end to the wool and it should spark, which is enough to start spinning)
- Spin it and the oxygen with set it off, and it will rain sparks

Couple of suggestions:
Wear a hat, long sleeves, and goggles couldn't hurt... have a fire extinguisher for extra safety. Do NOT try this near anything flammable ~
Settings: 10s+, 100 ISO, f/8... experiment a bit

Could have done this in 1 exposure, but I was lazy. Besides, I was the spinner, photographer AND the subject so I would have had a tough time. I ended up just using a second exposure for me in the foreground.