CANON USAのインスタグラム(canonusa) - 4月8日 23時50分

"I love night photography and spinning steel wool. Over the years I have experimented with different metals and discovered that adding magnesium to my steel wool shots creates a much more dramatic effect. Recently, I have been adding fountain fireworks behind my steel wool spinning shots. This shot is from a light photography Instagram meet up that I organized at Montrose Beach in Chicago, IL." #MyCanonStory

Photo Credit: @joselivinup
Camera: #Canon EOS 70D
Lens: EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 100
Shutter Speed: 15 sec
Focal Length: 16mm

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zuzulee @jessejerome What you see here, is a shower of steel wool glitter, that is literally on fire. The steel wool is set on fire in some sort of cage aparatus, metals usually glow orange when heated, but magnesium burns green, they added magnesium to the steel wool to get the color in this shot. Normal wicks for firespinning are made of kevlar that you dip in fuel and it produces a steady burning flame like a torch or candle. Steel wool is a bunch of tiny metal particles balled up like fibers, it sparkles and crackles as it burns, and when you spin it around, tiny flakes of steel wool and magnesium shed off and spray out in that circle and shower effect around the person. These metal flakes are still glowing as they spray out and fall to the ground because they are still burning. With a super short shutter speed, this would look more like a bunch of little fireflies floating in the air, but with the long shutter speed, the light over time caught in one frame creates that trail effect, and you can actually draw pattern with those trails if you time it right with the shutter speed. This is literal fire, literally red hot metal, and yes, playing with it is very cool looking. But also very dangerous, so do not attempt without trained supervision and proper fire safety precautions. If you want to experiment with this kind of photography, please ask an experienced pyrotechnics artist to be your subject first. For the inexperienced artist that really wants to try it on their own, you can achieve similar effects in photography with LED glow toys, without the fire hazard, this is a much safer route for entry level flow arts and photography light effects.

zuzulee Thank you for the note on fire safety in the comments, but it should probsbly be mentioned at least briefly in the original post-- for those who are not so familiar with pyrotechnics and fire performance art, and always a good reminder for those that are, safety first! While the light effects are especially dazzling, the trails you see here are created as flaming flecks of steel scatter like glitter and fall to the ground. Be aware of the wind and how far the glowing embers travel, take extra precaution to clear your dance area of combustible materials, and keep water on hand to douse any stray flames in your surroundings. Using steel wool is an advanced firespinning technique, practice with non-flamming props first, always have a safety present with fire safety blankets to pat out flames on the body, and respect local burn bans and restrictions in dry areas with high fire risk. Protective clothing is not a necessity, but synthetic fibers will melt like plastic when burned, which can fuse to your skin and will be very painful to remove and treat the burns, so it is essential to dress in natural fibers like cotton and hemp when playing with fire, and cover your hair, especially when there are loose sparks like you see here with the steel wool effect.

zuzulee @jonaslegarth @kirk.the.jerk As a fire performance artist from California, that really set off red flags for me too. If you want to experiment with fire photography, please ask an experienced firespinner to be your subject first, and do not attempt on your own without trained supervision. If you don't know any fire performers personally, you can find groups on social media dedicated to this art just like you can with photography, we are all over, we love every opportunity to play with fire, and there are many who would be happy to share our knowledge of fire art and safety. Seriously, can't hurt to ask, but burns don't tickle, and wildfires are not a beautiful subject.

canonusa @jessejerome Yeah, what @zuzulee said. Spinning steel wool is beautiful in a long exposure but it's dangerous. LED lights are a great alternative. Just remember to use a tripod so your camera stays steady!

canonusa @tamimb9117 The very same! You're literally playing with fire when you take a photo like this, so please exercise extreme caution!

qwasyx2 @canonusa But how do you keep your upper body so still for 15s WHILE SPINNING something above your head??

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