Forums > Social Chat > Whats the best way to take photos?

Posted: 4th Apr 2001
I think there may have been some discussion of this if you do a search on the board archives but anyhow:I think it depends on the effect you are trying to achieve. If you want to get really long comet trails, and don't really care about capturing the twirler, get ASA 100 film and just let the camera take a really long exposure.If you want to capture the person, use very fast film--ASA 1000 or so.Normally a flash "stops" the comet-trail, resulting in a clear picture of the person, but a very unimpressive picture of the fire. However, if you can set your flash for "slow synch" you can get some really cool effects: this basically takes a long exposure and fires the flash at the end of it. This gives you a big comet trail and a more-or-less clear picture of the person (though you often get a sort of Picasso-effect). This works with fast-ish film of ASA 400 or so--I don't think it works as well with slower films. With any flash photography, it is important to be within the flash's range.Whether you are using a flash or not, if you want to capture the person, it really helps to have a little ambient light. This admittedly ruins the cool image of floating on inky blackness you might otherwise get, but hey, life is full of compromises.A tripod is very helpful for any fire-shooting situation, but is critical for long exposures. It also lets you stand back and watch, rather than squinting through the viewfinder.I've done a fair amount of fire photography with my digicam, which you can view athttps://www.nikonnet.com/members/adamriceI've also done a bit with film cameras, but not nearly as much.HTHPS: Oh, I just realized you were talking about using glowsticks. I think most of what I said will apply, except that glowsticks put out much less light than fire poi. Having ambient light might interfere. Not sure. You'd probably do well to use those super-intense 30-minute glowsticks for this project.[This message has been edited by adamrice (edited 05 April 2001).]

Laugh while you can, monkey-boy

Posted: 4th Apr 2001
hey thanks adam...The pics i have seen are a clear picture of the person with no trails...I want the comet trails to show..GREAT!! Ill try it out this weekend.Thanx againSuper'------------------"Only the warrior that hears the call will know when to leave, Where to go" -unknown

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 4th Apr 2001
I did a shooting session with glowsticks for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I'll post them on this site soon. Glowsticks are different than fire. Long to very-long exposure will work with fire and give a thicker trail. Can be very impressive. However, the same doesn't apply with glowsticks because they leave thiner trails. So you will get messy trails and not thicker trails. My advise: definitely use a tripod, fire the flash at the end, use intense sticks or 2 regular on each trail. I think the best result is obtained with .5 to 1.5 second exposure depending on how fast you spin.nomad

Posted: 4th Apr 2001
cool beans... ------------------"Only the warrior that hears the call will know when to leave, Where to go" -unknown

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain

Posted: 5th Apr 2001
one thing all you guys forgot to mentionjust for those dummies, like me is that to do this you'll need an SLR camera, or a super fancy ass instomatic to slow down your aperture speed.and yes a tripos usualy helps.theres some pics of me spinning athttps://dreamchat.com/members/bargschooners/photos.htmland you can clearly tell the ones that have not used a tripos cos it looks like im standing in 3 places at once, but that can be a good affect, instomatics are good for fire breathing shots tho....anyway im rambeling like i know everything again,,,forgive me.adriankeep up the flame.------------------ladies and gentelmen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice...[This message has been edited by adrian (edited 05 April 2001).][This message has been edited by adrian (edited 05 April 2001).]

ladies and gentelmen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice...