Awika

Nikon D7000, 45mm (18-55), 3 sec., f/5.3, ISO 800, cropped

For our fun class session last week, we killed the lights, slowed down the shutter and photographed some moving light sources.

Our first subject was Awika, relative of Cosmojetz. I neglected to shoot video with the lights on, but the folks who created it have a good, quick clip. With the lights off, the only visible part of the scene were the sparks shooting out the back.

The first attempt (above) was a little over-exposed. To be sure, it was still a cool effect. The winding key and Awika’s feet are faintly visible. But I was curious to see what we’d get if we played with the exposure a little. First I dropped the ISO:

Nikon D7000, 45mm (18-55), 3 sec., f/5.3, ISO 100, cropped

And then I closed the aperture down a bit:

Nikon D7000, 45mm (18-55), 3 sec., f/11, ISO 100, cropped

Unfortunately, for that test I put the subject on the table upside down, so its body hid most of the sparks. One more try:

Nikon D7000, 45mm (18-55), 3 sec., f/11, ISO 100, cropped

Now the only visible parts of the subject are the narrow light trails made by the sparks. They look like fine hairs or dandelion fluff. Sometimes it’s nice to just play around and see what you get.