In this short article we explain how we did “spirography with fire” and which utensils were needed for that fun experiment. It is pretty dangerous, so do not try this alone and be especially careful. Wear protective clothing and eye protection.
What you do is your responsibility!
This can only be done outdoors on non-flammable ground with an adequate safety margin of at least 20m/60feet to any flammable object or people.
You need:
- a camera which allows you to adjust the time of exposure
- a tripod
- a large pack of steel wool (you can get it at any hardware store)
- a cord of a non-flammable material (we used a black power cord)
- a metal hook and thin wire
- protective clothes and glasses (this is DANGEROUS!!! You can burn yourself or set other people or flammable things around you on fire – take that into account !!!)
- a lighter
How to do it:
At first you need to find a place where you can be sure that it is dark enough for your shoot. Street lamps, passing by cars or the like would leave their marks on your picture. Place your camera on the tripod at a save distance from the place you will later be standing and focus that place. You have to set the camera for a 30 second exposure and you will also need a delayed-action shutter release unless you have someone who is pushing the trigger.
The next step is that you have to attach a good amount of steel wool to the cord using a hook and wire. The tighter you wrap the wire around the steel wool the slower it will burn. Put on your protective glasses/clothes, go back and start the fun! Set the steel wool on fire and swing it around in a circular way. With this method you can create astonishing effects which can be varied by changing the burning steel wool’s direction of motion and angle to the camera.
If you want to show us your results post them as a link on our Facebook wall 
Have fun!! Be creative!!
All rights reserved ©
