Throwing Wool Sparks

A new twist on an old trick

Since the first time I saw my buddy Johnny tie a piece of steel wool to a string and light it on fire, I knew light painting was for real! Since then wool spins have been photographed by light painters so many times that they have lost a little bit of their apeal. Althought they are still pretty damn cool. While I was visiting my hometown of Dodgeville, Iowa this weekend for my best buds wedding, I grabbed my gf Jackie and we went into the front yard to make some spins of our own. It was time to try something a little different. We did everything we would usually do except this time around we held a green gel in front of the lens for one shot, and a red gel for the second before removing the gel to let the natural colors of the landscape shine through.

It is pretty hard to reinvent the wheel, but sometimes you just have to try something new to keep things exciting.

This is why I love brainstorming with Johnny and developing crazy ideas that can be practiced in the metaphorical corn field.

Dan McCreight